War don't ennoble men, it turns 'em into dogs. It poisons the soul.
Interpretation
War degrades human beings and corrupts their morals.
James Jones's quote suggests that rather than elevating humanity, war diminishes it, transforming men into more animalistic beings. The harsh realities of conflict are said to taint the soul, leading to a loss of morality and decency in individuals swept up in violence and strife.
In practice
During a speech at a veterans' gathering, one could reference this quote to illustrate the psychological toll of war.
Religion, as distinguished from modern paganism, implies a life in conformity with nature. It may be observed that the natural life and the supernatural life have a conformity to each other which neither has with the mechanistic life...A wrong attitude towards nature implies, somewhere, a wrong attitude towards God...[We should] struggle to recover the sense of relation to nature and to God.
This tyrant, whose sole name blisters our tongues,Was once thought honest.
Our environment, the world in which we live and work, is a mirror of our attitudes and expectations.
Sometimes I think it is a great mistake to have matter that can think and feel. It complains so. By the same token, though, I suppose that boulders and mountains and moons could be accused of being a little too phlegmatic.
Adam and Eve derived the fullness of joy and bliss from their contemplation of all the animal creatures.
What to the Slave is the 4th of July.
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