Meaning

This short, balanced statement makes two equally important claims. First, it tells those who have succeeded not to rest on that success as if it guarantees anything going forward. Second, and perhaps more usefully, it tells those who have failed that failure is not a permanent condition. The pivot of the whole sentence is the word "courage," which is identified as the one thing that actually determines outcomes over time.

Context

This saying is widely attributed to Winston Churchill, though quotation scholars have noted that a definitive original source has not been firmly established. Various similar phrasings appear in the historical record, and the saying may have evolved over time before settling into this well-known form. Whatever its precise origin, it became closely associated with Churchill's public image as a wartime leader who embodied steadiness in the face of both setback and triumph, which made it easy for audiences to accept as his own.

About the author

Winston Churchill served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and led the country through the Second World War. He was also a historian, journalist, and Nobel Prize-winning author, making him one of the rare political figures whose literary output was itself considered significant. Churchill experienced notable failures and political reversals before achieving the leadership role for which he is most remembered, and this personal history has made him a natural figure around whom quotations about resilience and perseverance have gathered.