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War Quotes

War, remembered and reckoned with.

This topic pairs literary observation, such as a novelist's take on the social fabric depicted in a sprawling Tolstoy epic, with hard historical fact about the 1962 border conflict between China and India. Readers interested in broader historical context can visit History.

Let us assume that the ideal were reached; let us imagine a state of international life in which the danger of war no longer exists. Then no one would dare to demand a penny for obviously completely superfluous armaments.

Quotes by Ludwig Quidde

Armaments are necessary - or are maintained on the pretext of necessity - because of a real or an imagined danger of war.

Quotes by Ludwig Quidde

A lasting order cannot be established by bayonets.

Quotes by Ludwig von Mises

Economically considered, war and revolution are always bad business.

Quotes by Ludwig von Mises

If men do not now succeed in abolishing war, civilization and mankind are doomed.

Quotes by Ludwig von Mises

Only one thing can conquer war - that attitude of mind which can see nothing in war but destruction and annihilation.

Quotes by Ludwig von Mises

Peace and not war is the father of all things.

Quotes by Ludwig von Mises

The philosophy of protectionism is a philosophy of war.

Quotes by Ludwig von Mises

To defeat the aggressors is not enough to make peace durable. The main thing is to discard the ideology that generates war.

Quotes by Ludwig von Mises

War can really cause no economic boom, at least not directly, since an increase in wealth never does result from destruction of goods.

Quotes by Ludwig von Mises

War prosperity is like the prosperity that an earthquake or a plague brings.

Quotes by Ludwig von Mises

War... is harmful, not only to the conquered but to the conqueror.

Quotes by Ludwig von Mises

In war there is no prize for runner-up.

Quotes by Lucius Annaeus Seneca

In war, when a commander becomes so bereft of reason and perspective that he fails to understand the dependence of arms on Divine guidance, he no longer deserves victory.

Quotes by Lucius Annaeus Seneca

I'm a very eclectic person, and I enjoy multiple tastes; I'm like a bee who jumps from flower to flower. Before I die, I have to make a war movie, a Western, and a movie like Mike Nichols, because I...

Quotes by Luca Guadagnino

My child, you are going to be a great king; do not imitate me in the taste I have had for building, or in that I have had for war; try, on the contrary, to be at peace with your...

Quotes by Louis XIV

My court was divided between peace and war according to their various interests, but I considered only their reasons.

Quotes by Louis XIV

The poetry of heroism appeals irresistibly to those who don't go to a war, and even more to those whom the war is making enormously wealthy. It's always so.

Quotes by Louis-Ferdinand Celine

In war and in peace, in prosperity and times of economic hardship, America has no better friend or more dependable ally than the United Kingdom.

Quotes by Louis Susman

The bond between the United States and Britain has always been strong. It has survived through war and peace, periods of prosperity and economic hardship.

Quotes by Louis Susman

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this page reference literature about war?
Yes. One quote reflects on reading novels that portrayed a world with a strong social fabric, noting: "People knew each other in 'War and Peace.'" It's a literary angle on the topic, rather than a historical or personal one. For more big-idea quotes, see Great quotes.
Is there a quote about the 1962 India-China border war?
Yes. One quote states plainly: "China invaded India, and there was a war between India and China in some of the disputed terrain in 1962, and India got hurt by that." It's a direct historical reference within the quote itself. Browse History quotes for more quotes rooted in real events.
Does this collection touch on the aftermath of World War I?
Yes. One quote describes how the end of the First World War had thrown Germany's youth into great turmoil, noting that the reins of power had fallen from the hands of a deeply disillusioned older generation. It's a sober historical observation.
Is there a quote that uses a chess metaphor to describe the war?
Yes - one quote compares the situation for Germany to an end game in chess in which she possessed one castle less than her adversary, adding that the loss of the war was as certain as the loss of an end game under those conditions. It's a vivid, strategic way of describing an outcome that felt inevitable. For more thought-provoking metaphors, see Life quotes.
What kinds of war-related quotes does this page bring together?
A mix of literary reflection, direct historical fact, and vivid metaphor - from a mention of 'War and Peace,' to the 1962 India-China border war, to World War I's aftermath in Germany, to a chess-based description of a war's inevitable loss. For more first-person reflections, see Me quotes.

Two entries look at Germany's condition in the aftermath of its 1918 defeat, one describing the disillusionment of a younger generation and the other comparing the loss to an inevitable endgame in chess. For more reflective lines, see Great or Life.