January 24, 2025

Victory has a hundred fathers, but defeat is an orphan.

Count Galeazzo Ciano (1903-1944), Fascist politician, son-in-law to Benito Mussolini, Diary (1946) vol.2, 9 September 1942, Jay p.95

You know this saying has a hundred fathers, don’t you?

In fact, Ciano is wrong. Politicians are the fathers of every defeat. Ask Mary Chesnut (vide January 26).