--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Traitors who prevail are patriots…" description: "\"Traitors who prevail are patriots; usurpers who succeed are divine emperors.\" — Gore Vidal" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cc/gore-vidal-466_divine_traitors-who-prevail-are-patriots-usurpe_3157362.jpg" --- # Traitors who prevail are patriots; usurpers who succeed… ![“Traitors who prevail are patriots; usurpers who succeed are divine emperors.” quote by Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cc/gore-vidal-466_divine_traitors-who-prevail-are-patriots-usurpe_3157362.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cc/gore-vidal-466_divine_traitors-who-prevail-are-patriots-usurpe_3157362.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cc/gore-vidal-466_divine_traitors-who-prevail-are-patriots-usurpe_3157362.jpg) > “Traitors who prevail are patriots; usurpers who succeed are divine emperors.” [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Those who betray are often celebrated as heroes, while tyrants may be revered as divine. **In simple terms:** Traitors can be seen as heroes; tyrants as divine. Key Takeaway Question how history labels power. Themes power history morality Mood critical analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - political revolutions - leadership analysis - cultural narratives Key Concepts political theory ethics Questions to Reflect On - Who decides who is a traitor or a hero? - Can power ever be truly moral? A Different Perspective Historical context can shift perceptions over time. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Divine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divine/) [Emperor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emperor/) [Patriot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriot/) [Traitor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traitor/) [Traitors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traitors/) [Usurpers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/usurpers/) ## Related quotes > [Whistleblowers is another aspect that needs to be addressed. We have to restore the protections of whistleblowers and also the encouragement and rewards. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-gup/whistleblowers-is-another-aspect-that-needs-to-be-addressed-we-have/) [Ted Gup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-gup/) > [And all the time - such is the tragic comedy of our situation - we continue to clamor for those very qualities we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/and-all-the-time-such-is-the-tragic-comedy-of-our-situation-we/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Every one of the aristocratic conspirators and would-be murderers claims to be an arch-patriot; every one of them insists that the war is being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-v-debs/every-one-of-the-aristocratic-conspirators-and-would-be-murderers/) [Eugene V. Debs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-v-debs/) > [You'd be surprised. Besides, they don't even send royal traitors to prison, Rose. Everyone knows that." I scoffed. "Are you insane? Of course they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/you-d-be-surprised-besides-they-don-t-even-send-royal-traitors-to/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [ I have nothing but contempt and anger for those who betray the trust by exposing the name of \[CIA\] sources. They are, in my… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-w-bush/i-have-nothing-but-contempt-and-anger-for-those-who-betray-the-trust/) [George H. W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-w-bush/) > [A government that can at pleasure accuse, shoot, and hang men, as traitors, for the one general offence of refusing to surrender themselves and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/a-government-that-can-at-pleasure-accuse-shoot-and-hang-men-as/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) > [The traitor of other races is generally confined to the mediocre or irresponsible individual, but, unfortunately, the traitors among the Negro race are generally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-garvey/the-traitor-of-other-races-is-generally-confined-to-the-mediocre-or/) [Marcus Garvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-garvey/) > [And what does anyone know about traitors, or why Judas did what he did?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rhys/and-what-does-anyone-know-about-traitors-or-why-judas-did-what-he-did/) [Jean Rhys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rhys/) > [Though we be active in the battle, if we are not fighting where the battle is the hottest, we are traitors to the cause.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/though-we-be-active-in-the-battle-if-we-are-not-fighting-where-the/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [What do you think spies are: priests, saints and martyrs? They're a squalid procession of vain fools, traitors too, yes; pansies, sadists and drunkards,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/what-do-you-think-spies-are-priests-saints-and-martyrs-they-re-a/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [We must be brief when traitors brave the field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/we-must-be-brief-when-traitors-brave-the-field/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Do you think... that men have always massacred each other, as they do today? Have they always been liars, cheats, traitors, brigands, weak, flighty,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/do-you-think-that-men-have-always-massacred-each-other-as-they-do/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is the English, not their Government; for if they were not blind cowards, they would lynch Chamberlain and Halifax and all the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enoch-powell/it-is-the-english-not-their-government-for-if-they-were-not-blind/) [Enoch Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enoch-powell/) > [Flatterers are the worst kind of traitors, for they will strengthen thy imperfections, encourage thee in all evils, correct thee in nothing, but so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-raleigh/flatterers-are-the-worst-kind-of-traitors-for-they-will-strengthen/) [Walter Raleigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-raleigh/) > [The treason pleases, but the traitors are odious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/the-treason-pleases-but-the-traitors-are-odious/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) ## More by Gore Vidal > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Many people in the United States happen to believe that United States policy is wrong in Vietnam and the Vietcong are correct in wanting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/many-people-in-the-united-states-happen-to-believe-that-united-states/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“It is curious how little interested we are in the sexual desires of those who do not attract us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-curious-how-little-interested-we-are-in-the-sexual-desires-of/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [This separation was absolute in our original Republic. But the sky-godders do not give up easily. In the 1950s they actually got the phrase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/this-separation-was-absolute-in-our-original-republic-but-the-sky/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/style-is-knowing-who-you-are-what-you-want-to-say-and-not-giving-a/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [The oligarchs think that the people are both dangerous and stupid. Their point is moot. But we do know that the oligarchs are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-oligarchs-think-that-the-people-are-both-dangerous-and-stupid/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [It is curious how often one prefers his enemies to his friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-curious-how-often-one-prefers-his-enemies-to-his-friends/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [As societies grow decadent, the language grows decadent, too. Words are used to disguise, not to illuminate, action: you liberate a city by destroying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/as-societies-grow-decadent-the-language-grows-decadent-too-words-are/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Rome ... at its most decadent, had never thought of hiring an actor to go through the motions of being an emperor while the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/rome-at-its-most-decadent-had-never-thought-of-hiring-an-actor-to-go/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [History is nothing but gossip about the past, with the hope that it might be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/history-is-nothing-but-gossip-about-the-past-with-the-hope-that-it/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [The malady of civilized man is his knowledge of death. The good artist, like the wise man, addresses himself to life and invests with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-malady-of-civilized-man-is-his-knowledge-of-death-the-good-artist/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Sex is a continuum. You go through different phases along life's way... and if you don't, you've been sort of cheated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/sex-is-a-continuum-you-go-through-different-phases-along-life-s-way/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [All I want is that Americans still be able to read the alphabet in a hundred years. I am not very ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/all-i-want-is-that-americans-still-be-able-to-read-the-alphabet-in-a/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [I do not admire 'the people,' as such. No one really does. Their folk wisdom is usually false, their instincts predatory. Even their sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/i-do-not-admire-the-people-as-such-no-one-really-does-their-folk/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“One of the problems of a society as tightly controlled as ours is that we get so little information about what those of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/one-of-the-problems-of-a-society-as-tightly-controlled-as-ours-is/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) [Explore all 539 Gore Vidal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) ## More Divine quotes > [Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-action-that-helps-us-manifest-our-divine-nature-more-and-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. 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