proverb · Legacy record
If we blame others for our failures, then we must give others credit for our successes.
If we blame others for our failures, then we must give others credit for our successes.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Blaming others for failure paired with crediting them for success asks for consistency in assigning responsibility. It questions convenient changes in how outcomes are explained.
What the words are saying
The contrast does not prove that both outcomes have identical causes or contributions. A useful application examines evidence for each while avoiding automatic personal blame or credit. Shared work can have multiple influences, and another person’s actual role should not be determined solely by whether the result is welcome.
Everyday example
A team records contributions and decisions for both a successful project and an unsuccessful one.
When to use it
Use it to discuss consistent assessment of responsibility.
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What it does not mean
No identical cause of different outcomes or automatic allocation of guilt and credit is established.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
United States
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin.- Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- Contributor-provided wisdom reference (2014 AD)
Supplied reference B; unit 115; PDF page 18; collection label: United States
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- United States