Citizenship in a Republic

Citizenship in a Republic is the title of a speech given by Theodore Roosevelt, former President of the United States, at the Sorbonne in Paris, France, on April 23, 1910.[1]

This article is part of a series about Theodore Roosevelt
Political positions Electoral history Early life Family The Naval War of 1812 Rough Riders Battle of San Juan Hill 1886 New York City mayoral election 33rd Governor of New York Governorship "The Strenuous Life" 25th Vice President of the United States 1900 McKinley-Roosevelt campaign "Speak softly and carry a big stick" 26th President of the United States Presidency Timeline First term McKinley assassination 1st inauguration Square Deal West Wing Coal strike Booker T. Washington dinner Venezuela crisis Roosevelt Corollary Second term 1904 campaign Election 2nd inauguration Conservation Antiquities Act Forest Service Pure Food and Drug Act FDA Swift & Co. v. United States Meat Inspection Act Treaty of Portsmouth Nobel Prize FBI Panama Canal Great White Fleet 1912 election Republican Convention Progressive Party Convention New Nationalism Assassination attempt Post Presidency African Expedition River of Doubt Expedition "Citizenship in a Republic" WWI volunteers Legacy Memorials Depictions
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One notable passage from the speech is referred to as "The Man in the Arena":[2][3]

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. Shame on the man of cultivated taste who lets refinement to develop in to fastidiousness that unfits him for doing the rough work of a work day world

Someone who is heavily involved in a situation that requires courage, skill, or tenacity, as opposed to someone sitting on the sidelines and watching, is often referred to as "the man in the arena".