A dream has power to poison sleep.
Percy Bysshe ShelleyRead
War is the statesman's game, the priest's delight, the lawyer's jest, the hired assassin's trade.
Interpretation
What this quote means
War is influenced by various professions and interests, highlighting the complexities of human conflicts.
This quote by Percy Bysshe Shelley explores the multifaceted nature of war, suggesting that it involves not only statesmen who strategize and make decisions, but also has implications for religious leaders, legal professionals, and those who profit from violence. It illustrates how war is intertwined with human ambition and serves different purposes for different people, often leading to moral dilemmas and societal consequences.
Themes
WarPoliticsConflictHuman NatureMorality
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech on the complexities of conflict, one might say, 'As Percy Bysshe Shelley noted, war is not just a matter of military strategy but involves various societal roles.'
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A sensitive plant in a garden grew,_x000D_ _x000D_ And the young winds fed it with silver dew,_x000D_ _x000D_ And it opened its fan_x000D_ _x000D_ like leaves to the light,_x000D_ _x000D_ and closed them beneath the kisses of night.
Percy Bysshe ShelleyRead
I am the daughter of Earth and Water, And the nursling of the Sky; I pass through the pores of the ocean and shores; I change, but I cannot die. For after the rain when with never a stain The pavilion of Heaven is bare, And the winds and sunbeams with their convex gleams Build up the blue dome of air, I silently laugh at my own cenotaph, And out of the caverns of rain, Like a child from the womb, like a ghost from the tomb, I arise and unbuild it again.
Percy Bysshe ShelleyRead
O, wind, if winter comes, can spring be far behind?
Percy Bysshe ShelleyRead
Ah, woe is me! Winter is come and gone. But grief returns with the revolving year.
Percy Bysshe ShelleyRead
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