There could be no honor in a sure success, but much might be wrested from a sure defeat.

Lawrence contrasts the moral value of striving with the emptiness of outcomes that are guaranteed. If success is “sure,” it demands little courage, ingenuity, or sacrifice; it confers no special honor because it was never in doubt. A “sure defeat,” by contrast, can still yield something worth “wresting” from it: dignity, self-knowledge, solidarity, or a strategic gain achieved against the odds. The line reflects a romantic-heroic ethic often associated with Lawrence’s wartime self-fashioning—valuing audacity and character over mere victory—and it also hints at a guerrilla sensibility: even losing positions can be made productive through resilience and imaginative action.