The most successful war seldom pays for its losses.
Interpretation
Success in conflict often comes at a high cost that may outweigh the benefits.
This quote by Thomas Jefferson suggests that while a war may be won, the losses incurred during the conflict can overshadow any gains achieved. It highlights the idea that the consequences of war—such as loss of life, destruction, and long-term repercussions—often outweigh any temporary victories or successes. The wisdom here is a caution against pursuing conflict recklessly, as the cost of success in war can be devastating and sometimes unjustifiable.
In practice
In a discussion about the implications of military action, you can quote Jefferson to emphasize the high costs of war.
The firmness with which the (American) people have withstood the... abuses of the press, the discernment they have manifested between truth and falsehood, show that they may safely be trusted to hear everything true and false and to form a correct judgment between them.
I, place economy among the first & most important republican virtues, & public debt as the greatest of the dangers to be feared
We must make our choice between economy and liberty or confusion and servitude...If we run into such debts, we must be taxed in our meat and drink, in our necessities and comforts, in our labor and in our amusements...if we can prevent the government from wasting the labor of the people, under the pretense of caring for them, they will be happy.
Very many and very meritorious were the worthy patriots who assisted in bringing back our government to its republican tack. To preserve it in that, will require unremitting vigilance.
A nation, as a society, forms a moral person, and every member of it is personally responsible for his society.
Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty.
It's hard to hold the hand of anyone who is reaching for the sky just to surrender
Being born in a duck yard does not matter, if only you are hatched from a swan's egg.
If in this hell of a world one can bring a little joy and peace even for a day into the heart of a single person, that much alone is true; this I have learnt after suffering all my life; all else is mere moonshine.
Kindness is the only service that will stand the storm of life and not wash out. It will wear well and will be remembered long after the prism of politeness or the complexion of courtesy has faded away.
Watch your thoughts, they become words. Watch your words, they become actions. Watch your actions, they become habit.
Nobody is ordinary if you know where to look.
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