--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is pardonable to be defeated, but…" description: "\"It is pardonable to be defeated, but never to be surprised.\" — Frederick The Great" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e1/frederick-the-great-8525_defeated_it-is-pardonable-to-be-defeated-but-neve_1546271.jpg" --- # It is pardonable to be defeated, but never to be surprised. ![“It is pardonable to be defeated, but never to be surprised.” quote by Frederick The Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e1/frederick-the-great-8525_defeated_it-is-pardonable-to-be-defeated-but-neve_1546271.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e1/frederick-the-great-8525_defeated_it-is-pardonable-to-be-defeated-but-neve_1546271.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e1/frederick-the-great-8525_defeated_it-is-pardonable-to-be-defeated-but-neve_1546271.jpg) > “It is pardonable to be defeated, but never to be surprised.” [Frederick The Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-the-great/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Accept defeat without shame, but never be caught off guard; maintain vigilance and adaptability. **In simple terms:** Being defeated is okay; being surprised is not. Key Takeaway Stay prepared and adaptable. Themes resilience vigilance strategy humility leadership Mood determined pragmatic Type historical motivational When to use this quote - leadership - sports competition - business negotiations - personal setbacks Key Concepts military strategy psychology of surprise learning from loss Questions to Reflect On - How can you anticipate hidden challenges? - What habits keep you alert? A Different Perspective Unexpected events can still derail plans despite preparation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Defeated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defeated/) [Defeated Surprised](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defeated-surprised-5105750/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Pardonable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pardonable-1311194/) [Pardonable Defeated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pardonable-defeated-5769050/) [Surprised](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprised/) ## Related quotes > [“commander may be forgiven for being defeated, but never for being surprised.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-cooper/commander-may-be-forgiven-for-being-defeated-but-never-for-being/) [Jeff Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-cooper/) > [“She would not allow someone for whom she had so little regard to have a negative effect on her mood at the start of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-winspear/she-would-not-allow-someone-for-whom-she-had-so-little-regard-to-have/) [Jacqueline Winspear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-winspear/) > [If this be not love, it is madness, and then it is pardonable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-congreve/if-this-be-not-love-it-is-madness-and-then-it-is-pardonable/) [William Congreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-congreve/) > [Most of our faults are more pardonable than the means we use to conceal them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/most-of-our-faults-are-more-pardonable-than-the-means-we-use-to/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [“Almost all our faults are more pardonable than the methods we resort to to hide them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/almost-all-our-faults-are-more-pardonable-than-the-methods-we-resort/) [François de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [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 by Frederick The Great > [“If it is bad to debase the innocence of a private individual, whose influence on the affairs of the world is minimal, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-the-great/if-it-is-bad-to-debase-the-innocence-of-a-private-individual-whose/) [Frederick the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-the-great/) > [“The Miracle of the House of Brandenburg had come to pass.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-the-great/the-miracle-of-the-house-of-brandenburg-had-come-to-pass/) [Frederick the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-the-great/) > [“Compare Holland with Russia; you see only marshy and sterile islands in the former, which rise from the center of the ocean: a small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-the-great/compare-holland-with-russia-you-see-only-marshy-and-sterile-islands/) [Frederick the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-the-great/) > [All religions must be tolerated ... every man must go to heaven in his own way. \[Die Religionen müssen alle toleriert werden ... denn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-the-great/all-religions-must-be-tolerated-every-man-must-go-to-heaven-in-his/) [Frederick The Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-the-great/) > [The people say what they like and then I do what I like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-the-great/the-people-say-what-they-like-and-then-i-do-what-i-like/) [Frederick The Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-the-great/) > [“The cruel man is of misanthropic temperament, and is a man of moods, oscillating from quiet brooding to sudden explosions. If a man like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-the-great/the-cruel-man-is-of-misanthropic-temperament-and-is-a-man-of-moods/) [Frederick the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-the-great/) > [The more I see of men, the better I like my dog.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-the-great/the-more-i-see-of-men-the-better-i-like-my-dog/) [Frederick The Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-the-great/) > [I am up and about when I am ill, and in the most appalling weather. I am on horseback when other men would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-the-great/i-am-up-and-about-when-i-am-ill-and-in-the-most-appalling-weather-i/) [Frederick The Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-the-great/) > [If I wished to punish a province, I would have it governed by philosophers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-the-great/if-i-wished-to-punish-a-province-i-would-have-it-governed-by/) [Frederick The Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-the-great/) > [“The floods which devastate regions, the fire of the lightning which reduces cities to ashes, the poison of the plague which afflicts provinces, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-the-great/the-floods-which-devastate-regions-the-fire-of-the-lightning-which/) [Frederick the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-the-great/) > [A man with his heart in his profession imagines and finds resources where the worthless and lazy despair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-the-great/a-man-with-his-heart-in-his-profession-imagines-and-finds-resources/) [Frederick The Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-the-great/) > [Be more than you seem to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-the-great/be-more-than-you-seem-to-be/) [Frederick The Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-the-great/) > [A man, who can, in cold blood, hunt and torture a poor, innocent animal, cannot feel much compassion for the distress of his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-the-great/a-man-who-can-in-cold-blood-hunt-and-torture-a-poor-innocent-animal/) [Frederick The Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-the-great/) > [It is disgusting to notice the increase in the quantity of coffee used by my subjects, and the amount of money that goes out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-the-great/it-is-disgusting-to-notice-the-increase-in-the-quantity-of-coffee/) [Frederick The Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-the-great/) > [Christianity - An old metaphysical romance, filled with marvels, contradictions, and absurdity, born in the ardent imagination of Orientals, has spread into our Europe.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-the-great/christianity-an-old-metaphysical-romance-filled-with-marvels/) [Frederick The Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-the-great/) [Explore all 78 Frederick The Great quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-the-great/) ## 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": "It is pardonable to be defeated, but never to be surprised.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Frederick The Great" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-the-great/it-is-pardonable-to-be-defeated-but-never-to-be-surprised/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Defeated" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-the-great/it-is-pardonable-to-be-defeated-but-never-to-be-surprised/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e1/frederick-the-great-8525_defeated_it-is-pardonable-to-be-defeated-but-neve_1546271.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e1/frederick-the-great-8525_defeated_it-is-pardonable-to-be-defeated-but-neve_1546271.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e1/frederick-the-great-8525_defeated_it-is-pardonable-to-be-defeated-but-neve_1546271.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is pardonable to be defeated, but never to be surprised.” — Frederick The Great", "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": "Frederick The Great", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-the-great/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is pardonable to be defeated,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-the-great/it-is-pardonable-to-be-defeated-but-never-to-be-surprised/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-the-great/it-is-pardonable-to-be-defeated-but-never-to-be-surprised/#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 } } ] } ```