Far better to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much . . . in the grey twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.
Source: Speech, 1899; in A Treasury of Great American Quotations, ed. Charles Hurd, 1964.
-- Theodore Roosevelt, (Oct 27 1858-1919), US president (26th); He led the Rough Riders during Spanish-American War, and served as the 26th U.S. president, 1901-09.