--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Must we always talk for victory, and…" description: "\"Must we always talk for victory, and never once for truth, for comfort, and joy?\" — Ralph Waldo Emerson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a61/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_comfort_must-we-always-talk-for-victory-and-neve_1032896.png" --- # Must we always talk for victory, and never once for truth… ![“Must we always talk for victory, and never once for truth, for comfort, and joy?” quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a61/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_comfort_must-we-always-talk-for-victory-and-neve_1032896.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a61/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_comfort_must-we-always-talk-for-victory-and-neve_1032896.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a61/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_comfort_must-we-always-talk-for-victory-and-neve_1032896.png) > “Must we always talk for victory, and never once for truth, for comfort, and joy?” [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Questions whether we prioritize victory over truth, comfort, and joy, urging a balance between ambition and authenticity. **In simple terms:** Balance victory with truth, comfort, and joy. Key Takeaway Seek truth and joy alongside success. Themes truth comfort joy victory Mood thoughtful balanced Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - political discourse - personal decision‑making - leadership Key Concepts authenticity ethical ambition Questions to Reflect On - How can you honor truth while pursuing goals? - What role does comfort play in ethical choices? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on victory can neglect deeper values. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comfort/) [Comfort and joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comfort-and-joy/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Victory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victory/) ## Related quotes > [I didn't think Comfort and Joy was going to be a box-office smash.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-forsyth/i-didn-t-think-comfort-and-joy-was-going-to-be-a-box-office-smash/) [Bill Forsyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-forsyth/) > [“So when I let my head fall back under Sarah’s kiss, the frenzy I trembled at just wasn’t there. Instead, comfort and joy and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-miller/so-when-i-let-my-head-fall-back-under-sarah-s-kiss-the-frenzy-i/) Isabel Miller > [The warmest place I've ever been is my home here in Chapel Hill. It's an oasis of comfort and joy for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/porter-robinson/the-warmest-place-i-ve-ever-been-is-my-home-here-in-chapel-hill-it-s/) [Porter Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/porter-robinson/) > [“Well, whatever you and Nancy decide to be when you grow up, I know that you'll be happy because you have discovered the comfort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-macdonald/well-whatever-you-and-nancy-decide-to-be-when-you-grow-up-i-know-that/) [Betty MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-macdonald/) > [To save us all. From Satan's power. When we were gone astray. O tidings of comfort and joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-belsante/to-save-us-all-from-satan-s-power-when-we-were-gone-astray-o-tidings/) [Matt Belsante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-belsante/) > [There was a lot of Southern Baptist preachers and some yelling ones but mostly we had a pastor who didn't scream and I found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-jackson/there-was-a-lot-of-southern-baptist-preachers-and-some-yelling-ones/) [Victoria Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-jackson/) > [The greatest joy comes from giving and serving, so replace your habit of focusing exclusively on yourself and what's in it for you. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/the-greatest-joy-comes-from-giving-and-serving-so-replace-your-habit/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Public libraries were a huge source of comfort and joy for me when I was growing up. I still spend time there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hong-chau/public-libraries-were-a-huge-source-of-comfort-and-joy-for-me-when-i/) [Hong Chau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hong-chau/) > [Men talk as if victory were something fortunate. Work is victory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/men-talk-as-if-victory-were-something-fortunate-work-is-victory/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Nothing conquers except truth and the victory of truth is love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/nothing-conquers-except-truth-and-the-victory-of-truth-is-love/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [People don't like to talk about victory and defeat anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bolton/people-don-t-like-to-talk-about-victory-and-defeat-anymore/) [John Bolton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bolton/) > [We are creatures of our thinking. We can talk ourselves into defeat or we can talk ourselves into victory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley/we-are-creatures-of-our-thinking-we-can-talk-ourselves-into-defeat-or/) [Gordon B. Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley/) > [The victory's found in truth, like innocence found in youth Self defeat is your own dispute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-marley/the-victory-s-found-in-truth-like-innocence-found-in-youth-self/) [Damian Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-marley/) > [The bud of victory is always in the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-harrison/the-bud-of-victory-is-always-in-the-truth/) [Benjamin Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-harrison/) > [“A victory over others is a Pyrrhic victory; however, a victory over himself is the only truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-kristian-goldmund-aumann/a-victory-over-others-is-a-pyrrhic-victory-however-a-victory-over/) sir kristian goldmund aumann ## More by Ralph Waldo Emerson > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If we will not interfere with our thought, but will act entirely, or see how the thing stands in God, we know the particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-we-will-not-interfere-with-our-thought-but-will-act-entirely-or/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. With his will or against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-cannot-speak-but-he-judges-himself-with-his-will-or-against-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Consideration is the soil in which wisdom may be expected to grow, and strength be given to every up-springing plant of duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/consideration-is-the-soil-in-which-wisdom-may-be-expected-to-grow-and/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“There is then creative reading as well as creative writing. When the mind is braced by labor and invention, the page of whatever book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/there-is-then-creative-reading-as-well-as-creative-writing-when-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The order of things consents to virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-order-of-things-consents-to-virtue/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Life only avails, not the having lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/life-only-avails-not-the-having-lived/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Another success is the post-office, with its educating energy augmented by cheapness and guarded by a certain religious sentimentin mankind; so that the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/another-success-is-the-post-office-with-its-educating-energy/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A child reminds us that playtime is an essential part of our daily routine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-child-reminds-us-that-playtime-is-an-essential-part-of-our-daily/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [No man can be criticised but by a greater than he. Do not, then, read the reviews.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/no-man-can-be-criticised-but-by-a-greater-than-he-do-not-then-read/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Coal lay in ledges under the ground since the Flood, until a laborer with pick and windlass brings it to the surface. We may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/coal-lay-in-ledges-under-the-ground-since-the-flood-until-a-laborer/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I am; therefore, I had nothing better to do than to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/i-am-therefore-i-had-nothing-better-to-do-than-to-think/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In a library we are surrounded by many hundreds of dear friends, but they are imprisoned by an enchanter in these paper and leathern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/in-a-library-we-are-surrounded-by-many-hundreds-of-dear-friends-but/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The compensations of calamity are made apparent to the understanding also, after long intervals of time. A fever, a mutilation, a cruel disappointment, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-compensations-of-calamity-are-made-apparent-to-the-understanding/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) [Explore all 4,802 Ralph Waldo Emerson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## More Comfort quotes > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [Don't take too much comfort in the fact that you're successful today because tomorrow could bring failure. There's no surety in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-savage/don-t-take-too-much-comfort-in-the-fact-that-you-re-successful-today/) [Michael Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-savage/) > [For many, the call to be a Christian can seem demanding, even overwhelming. But we need not be afraid or feel inadequate. The Savior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-hales/for-many-the-call-to-be-a-christian-can-seem-demanding-even/) [Robert D. Hales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-hales/) > [This is no time for ease and comfort. It is time to dare and endure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/this-is-no-time-for-ease-and-comfort-it-is-time-to-dare-and-endure/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [There is a comfort in rituals, and rituals provide a framework for stability when you are trying to find answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-norville/there-is-a-comfort-in-rituals-and-rituals-provide-a-framework-for/) [Deborah Norville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-norville/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“When you get lost in a really strange place, nothing is more comforting than found your friend whom you trust and can show the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/when-you-get-lost-in-a-really-strange-place-nothing-is-more/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [Comfort food is really anything you want at that time. That said, I really love Naple-style pizza.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-zakarian/comfort-food-is-really-anything-you-want-at-that-time-that-said-i/) [Geoffrey Zakarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-zakarian/) > [I actually like getting out of my comfort zone. It shakes me up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/i-actually-like-getting-out-of-my-comfort-zone-it-shakes-me-up/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) > [A time will come when the science of destruction shall bend before the arts of peace; when the genius which multiplies our powers, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/a-time-will-come-when-the-science-of-destruction-shall-bend-before/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [Throughout human history, as our species has faced the frightening, terrorizing fact that we do not know who we are, or where we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/throughout-human-history-as-our-species-has-faced-the-frightening/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [Worship is not about personality, temperament, personal limitations, church background, or comfort. It is about God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wimber/worship-is-not-about-personality-temperament-personal-limitations/) [John Wimber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wimber/) > [May God bless each of us in our calls to serve. May our faith strengthen as we serve in righteousness, faithfully keeping the commandments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/may-god-bless-each-of-us-in-our-calls-to-serve-may-our-faith/) [L. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/) > [Maybe that was why she couldn't cry, she realized, staring dry-eyed at the ceiling. Because what was the point in crying when there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/maybe-that-was-why-she-couldn-t-cry-she-realized-staring-dry-eyed-at/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [I think that comfort is underrated in a lot of ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-robinson/i-think-that-comfort-is-underrated-in-a-lot-of-ways/) [Phoebe Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-robinson/) [Browse all 4,542 Comfort quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comfort/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Must we always talk for victory, and never once for truth, for comfort, and joy?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ralph Waldo Emerson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/must-we-always-talk-for-victory-and-never-once-for-truth-for-comfort/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Comfort" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/must-we-always-talk-for-victory-and-never-once-for-truth-for-comfort/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a61/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_comfort_must-we-always-talk-for-victory-and-neve_1032896.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a61/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_comfort_must-we-always-talk-for-victory-and-neve_1032896.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a61/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_comfort_must-we-always-talk-for-victory-and-neve_1032896.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Must we always talk for victory, and never once for truth, for comfort, and joy?” — Ralph Waldo Emerson", "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": "Ralph Waldo Emerson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Must we always talk for victory,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/must-we-always-talk-for-victory-and-never-once-for-truth-for-comfort/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/must-we-always-talk-for-victory-and-never-once-for-truth-for-comfort/#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 } } ] } ```