Who said: "To win without risk is to triumph without glory"

BookBrowse's Favorite Quotes

To win without risk is to triumph without glory - Pierre Corneille

Together with his contemporary and rival Jeane Racine, Pierre Corneille [kohr-nay] (1606-1684) is regarded as one of the founders of French tragedy, although six of his first eight plays were comedies, and many of his other works contain elements of comedy.

Educated by Jesuits, he studied law before entering the Normandy parlement in 1629. He continued as a member of this regional council for 21 years, writing a play a year during this period, and a further 12 plays later on.

He is remembered in particular for four plays, known as his "Classical Tetralogy". The first of which is Le Cid (1637), influenced by tales of the 11th century Castilian nobleman, diplomat and warrior. In each of his four major plays Corneille explores an aspect of choice. In Le Cid our hero must choose between the claims of society and personal choice in a clearly defined social world. In Horace (1640), inspired by one of Livy's tales of ancient Rome, Horace chooses between patriotic duty and friendship. In Cinna (1641), also set in ancient Rome, Corneille explores the role of clemency as a political tool; and in Polyeucte (1643), based on the life of martyr Saint Polyeuctus, the choice is one of religion.

More Quotes

This quote & biography originally ran in an issue of BookBrowse's membership magazine. Full Membership Features & Benefits.

Become a Member

Join BookBrowse today to start discovering exceptional books!

Find out more


Top Picks

  • Book Jacket: Exiles
    Exiles
    by Jane Harper
    Our First Impressions readers were thrilled to return to the world of Jane Harper's protagonist ...
  • Book Jacket: Spice Road
    Spice Road
    by Maiya Ibrahim
    Imani is a Shield, a warrior who is renowned for her fighting abilities and for her iron dagger, ...
  • Book Jacket: A Mystery of Mysteries
    A Mystery of Mysteries
    by Mark Dawidziak
    Edgar Allan Poe biographers have an advantage over other writers because they don't have to come up ...
  • Book Jacket: Moonrise Over New Jessup
    Moonrise Over New Jessup
    by Jamila Minnicks
    Jamila Minnicks' debut novel Moonrise Over New Jessup received the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially...

Book Club Discussion

Book Jacket
The Nurse's Secret
by Amanda Skenandore
A fascinating historical novel based on the little-known story of America's first nursing school.

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    The Last Russian Doll
    by Kristen Loesch

    A haunting epic of betrayal, revenge, and redemption following three generations of Russian women.

  • Book Jacket

    The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise
    by Colleen Oakley

    A “wildly surprising, entertaining ride of a novel.”
    —Jodi Picoult

Win This Book
Win Last House Before the Mountain

Last House Before the Mountain by Monika Helfer

A spellbinding, internationally bestselling family saga set in a fractured rural village in WWI Austria.

Enter

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

R Peter T P P

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.