There is no feeling, except the extremes of fear and grief, that does not find relief in music.
T. S. EliotRead
When war is not just it is subsequently justified; so it becomes many things. In reality, an unjust war is merely piracy. It consists of piracy, ego and, more than anything, money. War is our century's prostitution.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote critiques the moral justifications for war, equating unjust wars to acts of piracy motivated by greed.
T. S. Eliot expresses a deep skepticism about the nature of war, suggesting that when conflicts are framed as justified, they mask deeper motivations such as greed and ego. By comparing war to piracy and prostitution, Eliot highlights the exploitation and moral degradation inherent in unjust wars, emphasizing that these conflicts often serve the interests of a few rather than any noble cause.
Themes
WarInjusticeGreedPiracyMorality
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the consequences of conflicts, one might quote this to emphasize the moral complexities of war.
More from T. S. Eliot
All quotes →Half of the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don't mean to do harm. But the harm does not interest them.
T. S. EliotRead
I am an Anglo-Catholic in religion, a classicist in literature and a royalist in politics.
T. S. EliotRead
If you aren't in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?
T. S. EliotRead
For I have known them all already, known them all— Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons, I have measured out my life with coffee spoons.
T. S. EliotRead
In the faint moonlight, the grass is singing
T. S. EliotRead
Similar quotes
PRACTICE OF THE Art of Peace is an act of faith, a belief in the ultimate power of nonviolence. It is faith in the power of purification and faith in the power of life itself. It is not a type of rigid discipline or empty asceticism. It is a path that follows natural principles, principles, that must be applied to daily living. The Art of Peace should be practiced from the time you rise to greet the morning to the time you retire at night.
Morihei UeshibaRead
The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well.
Pierre De CoubertinRead
The man who enters his wife's dressing room is either a philosopher or a fool.
Honore De BalzacRead
What makes the desert beautiful is that somewhere it hides a well.
Antoine De Saint-ExuperyRead
One thing I really envy about my friends who have kids is that as their children develop, they're able to revisit their own developmental stages and recognise themselves and undo a lot of things they decided.
Chuck PalahniukRead
There's little of the melancholy element in her, my lord: she is never sad but when she sleeps; and not ever sad then; for I have heard my daughter say, she hath often dreamt of unhappiness, and waked herself with laughing.
William ShakespeareRead