--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Or is what remains in me like a defeated…" description: "\"“Or is what remains in me like a defeated army, Fleeing in disarray from victory already won?”\" — Bonhoeffer Dietrich" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcb/bonhoeffer-dietrich-223962_defeated_or-is-what-remains-in-me-like-a-defeated_206209.jpg" --- # Or is what remains in me like a defeated army, Fleeing in… ![“Or is what remains in me like a defeated army, Fleeing in disarray from victory already won?” quote by Bonhoeffer Dietrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcb/bonhoeffer-dietrich-223962_defeated_or-is-what-remains-in-me-like-a-defeated_206209.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcb/bonhoeffer-dietrich-223962_defeated_or-is-what-remains-in-me-like-a-defeated_206209.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcb/bonhoeffer-dietrich-223962_defeated_or-is-what-remains-in-me-like-a-defeated_206209.jpg) > ““Or is what remains in me like a defeated army, Fleeing in disarray from victory already won?”” [Bonhoeffer Dietrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonhoeffer-dietrich/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A feeling of defeat persists despite having already won, leading to confusion and sorrow. **In simple terms:** Defeat feels like losing after victory. Key Takeaway Recognize true victory and let go of lingering defeat. Themes defeat victory sadness conflict reflection Mood melancholy contemplative inspirational Type Defeated:1 Giving up:0 Sadness:1 Victory:1 Like Defeated:0 Defeated Army:0 Disarray Victory:0 Fleeing Disarray:0 When to use this quote - personal crisis - post‑victory reflection - mental health - overcoming defeat Key Concepts psychology existentialism war metaphors Questions to Reflect On - What victory are you still grieving? - How can you honor success without self‑sabotage? A Different Perspective Even after winning, self‑doubt can dominate. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Defeated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defeated/) [Defeated Army](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defeated-army-2139897/) [Disarray Victory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disarray-victory-2139898/) [Fleeing Disarray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fleeing-disarray-2139899/) [Giving up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving-up/) [Like Defeated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-defeated-2139896/) [Sadness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sadness/) [Victory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victory/) ## Related quotes > [Therefore a victorious army first wins and then seeks battle; a defeated army first battles and then seeks victory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/therefore-a-victorious-army-first-wins-and-then-seeks-battle-a/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [“Every day I feel more like some defeated matador limping out of the arena after I've been gored, or like some general coming back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-karr/every-day-i-feel-more-like-some-defeated-matador-limping-out-of-the/) [Mary Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-karr/) > [Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/only-a-man-who-knows-what-it-is-like-to-be-defeated-can-reach-down-to/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [A man is not a failure when he is defeated. He fails when he give up and quit trying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/a-man-is-not-a-failure-when-he-is-defeated-he-fails-when-he-give-up/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [Scotland's political identity was destroyed, and a huge Scottish emigration to North America followed the brutal Highland clearances. These included every layer of Scottish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ali/scotland-s-political-identity-was-destroyed-and-a-huge-scottish/) [Tariq Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ali/) > [Historically, art has always had a market. When one medieval fiefdom defeated another they would drag back its jewels, gold, tapestries and art objects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arne-glimcher/historically-art-has-always-had-a-market-when-one-medieval-fiefdom/) [Arne Glimcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arne-glimcher/) > [Faith is always at a disadvantage; it is a perpetually defeated thing which survives all conquerors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/faith-is-always-at-a-disadvantage-it-is-a-perpetually-defeated-thing/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [For there is hardly a state or nation in existence which has not once had the misfortune, even if it was in the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/for-there-is-hardly-a-state-or-nation-in-existence-which-has-not-once/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [One's dream is defeated not by unsolvable problems, but by all the more-or-less satisfactory solutions that kill it forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/one-s-dream-is-defeated-not-by-unsolvable-problems-but-by-all-the/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [You were never created to live depressed, defeated, guilty, condemned, ashamed or unworthy. You were created to be victorious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/you-were-never-created-to-live-depressed-defeated-guilty-condemned/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [Azerbaijan unleashed the war, and was defeated in that war; Azerbaijan asked for truce (including from the Commander of Karabakh's forces) and later started…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serzh-sargsyan/azerbaijan-unleashed-the-war-and-was-defeated-in-that-war-azerbaijan/) [Serzh Sargsyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/serzh-sargsyan/) > [You should never feel lonely, neglected, fearful, or defeated when you remember that there are the shining ones. They are watching with keen interest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flower-a-newhouse/you-should-never-feel-lonely-neglected-fearful-or-defeated-when-you/) [Flower A. Newhouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flower-a-newhouse/) > [I am sorry to upset my colleagues by saying we wasted four years in opposition, but if you do get so badly defeated as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clarke/i-am-sorry-to-upset-my-colleagues-by-saying-we-wasted-four-years-in/) [Kenneth Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clarke/) > [The devil has been defeated, stop trying to defeat him. What we have left is the fight of faith, and it's a good fight!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-oyakhilome/the-devil-has-been-defeated-stop-trying-to-defeat-him-what-we-have/) [Chris Oyakhilome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-oyakhilome/) > [Prefer to be defeated in the presence of the wise than to excel among fools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prefer-to-be-defeated-in-the-presence-of-the-wise-than-to-excel-among/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Defeated quotes > [Prefer to be defeated in the presence of the wise than to excel among fools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prefer-to-be-defeated-in-the-presence-of-the-wise-than-to-excel-among/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The devil has been defeated, stop trying to defeat him. What we have left is the fight of faith, and it's a good fight!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-oyakhilome/the-devil-has-been-defeated-stop-trying-to-defeat-him-what-we-have/) [Chris Oyakhilome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-oyakhilome/) > [I am sorry to upset my colleagues by saying we wasted four years in opposition, but if you do get so badly defeated as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clarke/i-am-sorry-to-upset-my-colleagues-by-saying-we-wasted-four-years-in/) [Kenneth Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clarke/) > [You should never feel lonely, neglected, fearful, or defeated when you remember that there are the shining ones. They are watching with keen interest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flower-a-newhouse/you-should-never-feel-lonely-neglected-fearful-or-defeated-when-you/) [Flower A. Newhouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flower-a-newhouse/) > [Azerbaijan unleashed the war, and was defeated in that war; Azerbaijan asked for truce (including from the Commander of Karabakh's forces) and later started…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serzh-sargsyan/azerbaijan-unleashed-the-war-and-was-defeated-in-that-war-azerbaijan/) [Serzh Sargsyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/serzh-sargsyan/) > [You were never created to live depressed, defeated, guilty, condemned, ashamed or unworthy. You were created to be victorious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/you-were-never-created-to-live-depressed-defeated-guilty-condemned/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [One's dream is defeated not by unsolvable problems, but by all the more-or-less satisfactory solutions that kill it forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/one-s-dream-is-defeated-not-by-unsolvable-problems-but-by-all-the/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [For there is hardly a state or nation in existence which has not once had the misfortune, even if it was in the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/for-there-is-hardly-a-state-or-nation-in-existence-which-has-not-once/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [Faith is always at a disadvantage; it is a perpetually defeated thing which survives all conquerors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/faith-is-always-at-a-disadvantage-it-is-a-perpetually-defeated-thing/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [Historically, art has always had a market. When one medieval fiefdom defeated another they would drag back its jewels, gold, tapestries and art objects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arne-glimcher/historically-art-has-always-had-a-market-when-one-medieval-fiefdom/) [Arne Glimcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arne-glimcher/) > [Scotland's political identity was destroyed, and a huge Scottish emigration to North America followed the brutal Highland clearances. These included every layer of Scottish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ali/scotland-s-political-identity-was-destroyed-and-a-huge-scottish/) [Tariq Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ali/) > [Intent is what can make a man succeed when his thoughts tell him that he is defeated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-castaneda/intent-is-what-can-make-a-man-succeed-when-his-thoughts-tell-him-that/) [Carlos Castaneda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-castaneda/) > [“He is not a challenge, he is not a conquest. You were once that for him, back when he used to call you a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vee-hoffman/he-is-not-a-challenge-he-is-not-a-conquest-you-were-once-that-for-him/) [Vee Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vee-hoffman/) > [My love for you is strong enough to be defeated over by my selfish desires..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mysticalistic/my-love-for-you-is-strong-enough-to-be-defeated-over-by-my-selfish/) [MYSTICALISTIC](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mysticalistic/) > [All battles have some use, including those in which we were defeated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/all-battles-have-some-use-including-those-in-which-we-were-defeated/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) [Browse all 866 Defeated quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defeated/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Or is what remains in me like a defeated army, Fleeing in disarray from victory already won?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bonhoeffer Dietrich" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonhoeffer-dietrich/or-is-what-remains-in-me-like-a-defeated-army-fleeing-in-disarray/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Defeated" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonhoeffer-dietrich/or-is-what-remains-in-me-like-a-defeated-army-fleeing-in-disarray/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcb/bonhoeffer-dietrich-223962_defeated_or-is-what-remains-in-me-like-a-defeated_206209.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcb/bonhoeffer-dietrich-223962_defeated_or-is-what-remains-in-me-like-a-defeated_206209.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcb/bonhoeffer-dietrich-223962_defeated_or-is-what-remains-in-me-like-a-defeated_206209.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Or is what remains in me like a defeated army, Fleeing in disarray from victory already won?” — Bonhoeffer Dietrich", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Bonhoeffer Dietrich", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonhoeffer-dietrich/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Or is what remains in me...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonhoeffer-dietrich/or-is-what-remains-in-me-like-a-defeated-army-fleeing-in-disarray/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonhoeffer-dietrich/or-is-what-remains-in-me-like-a-defeated-army-fleeing-in-disarray/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```