Literary notes about Success (AI summary)
In literature, the term "success" is portrayed as a multifaceted concept that spans personal fulfillment, moral judgment, and strategic achievement. At times, it embodies the turning point of an endeavor—a moment of confidence following a hard-won victory [1] or the gratifying climax of a military campaign [2]. In other narratives, however, success is tinged with ambiguity, often intertwined with ethical dilemmas or fleeting fortune, as seen when it becomes a source of internal conflict or even hubris [3, 4]. Its usage stretches from historical accounts of power and conquest [5, 6] to more intimate reflections on personal trials and societal expectations [7, 8], demonstrating that the notion of success is as complex and varied as the human experience itself.
- Somehow the first success gave me a feeling that I was going to pull the thing through.
— from The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan - On the whole, the grand review was a splendid success, and was a fitting conclusion to the campaign and the war.
— from Memoirs of General William T. Sherman — Complete by William T. Sherman - In certain minds the doubt of success changes into scruples of conscience.
— from The History of a Crime by Victor Hugo - Force is never more than a transient element of success; and after force comes the notion of right.
— from Democracy in America — Volume 1 by Alexis de Tocqueville - Louis XIV practiced it; Napoleon I perfected it; and Napoleon III had till then pursued it in the same spirit with singular success.
— from The Education of Henry Adams by Henry Adams - Conquest to-day my happier sword may bless, 'Tis man's to fight, but heaven's to give success.
— from The Iliad by Homer - If you are content with success, what mediocrity, and with conquering, what wretchedness!
— from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo - As it advanced towards the city, the banks were lined by thousands, anxiously inquiring their success.
— from Fox's Book of Martyrs by John Foxe
