“Our greatest glory is not in never…” – Oliver Goldsmith

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”

– Oliver Goldsmith, The Citizen of the World (1762)

What does it mean?

What makes us admirable is not that we never fail, but that we always get back up. This line is often wrongly credited to Confucius or Nelson Mandela.

Key vocabulary

glory: great honour and admiration

Who said it?

Oliver Goldsmith: Irish writer and poet (c. 1728–1774). Source: The Citizen of the World (1762).