Weather is a literary specialty, and no untrained hand can turn out a good article on it
The statesmen will invent cheap lies, putting the blame upon the nation that is attacked, and every man will be glad of those conscience-soothing falsities, and will diligently study them, and refuse to examine any refutations of them; and thus he will by and by convince himself that the war is just, and will thank God for the better sleep he enjoys after this process of grotesque self-deception.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote critiques how leaders use lies to justify war, enabling citizens to ignore the truth for their own peace of mind.
Mark Twain's quote highlights the moral dangers of self-deception in the context of war. It suggests that politicians often fabricate convenient narratives to shift blame onto the attacked nation, allowing citizens to comfortably accept these distortions instead of confronting the moral complexities of war. This process leads individuals to rationalize and justify conflict, ultimately fostering a false sense of righteousness while disregarding the truth and its implications on their conscience.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the morality of war, this quote by Mark Twain can serve to highlight the dangers of believing politicians without questioning their narratives.
More from Mark Twain
All quotes →The easy part of being an artist is figuring out the message that everyone else is ready to hear. The hard part is waiting for the proper lull to make the announcement.
You can't reason with your heart; it has its own laws, and thumps about things which the intellect scorns.
To be good is noble; but to show others how to be good is nobler and no trouble.
Name the greatest of all inventors. Accident.
In Paris they just simply opened their eyes and stared when we spoke to them in French! We never did succeed in making those idiots understand their own language.
Similar quotes
People will never set their faces decidedly towards heaven, and live like pilgrims, until they really feel that they are in danger of hell.
The impressions of the spriritual experiences gave my future life its form and content.
The greatest proof of Christianity for others is not how far a man can logically analyze his reasons for believing, but how far in practice he will stake his life on his belief.
In many ways we were drugged when we were young. We were brought up to need people. For what? For acceptance, approval, appreciation, applause.
Our instinct may be to see the impossibility of tracking everything down as frustrating, dispiriting, perhaps even appalling, but it can just as well be viewed as almost unbearably exciting. We live on a planet that has a more or less infinite capacity to surprise. What reasoning person could possibly want it any other way?
Human beings can be beautiful. If they are not beautiful it is entirely their own fault. It is what they do to themselves that makes them ugly. The longer I live the more beautiful life becomes. If you foolishly ignore beauty, you will soon find yourself without it.