The entire world is my temple, and a very fine one too, if I'm not mistaken, and I'll never lack priests to serve it as long as there are men.
Desiderius ErasmusRead
War is sweet to those who haven't tasted it. Dulce bellum inexpertis.
Interpretation
What this quote means
War may seem appealing to those who have never experienced its true horrors.
This quote by Desiderius Erasmus highlights the naive romanticism often associated with war by those who do not know its true nature. It suggests that individuals who have never experienced the realities of battle may view it as glorious or sweet, while in reality, it is filled with suffering and devastation that can only be understood through direct experience.
Themes
WarSweetExperienceNaiveReality
In practice
Example use cases
Using this quote in a debate about the romanticism of war in literature.
More from Desiderius Erasmus
All quotes βWhen I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes.
Desiderius ErasmusRead
You'll see certain Pythagorean whose belief in communism of property goes to such lengths that they pick up anything lying about unguarded, and make off with it without a qualm of conscience as if it had come to them by law.
Desiderius ErasmusRead
[N]o party is any fun unless seasoned with folly.
Desiderius ErasmusRead
If you look at history you'll find that no state has been so plagued by its rulers as when power has fallen into the hands of some dabbler in philosophy or literary addict.
Desiderius ErasmusRead
Fortune favours the audacious.
Desiderius ErasmusRead
Similar quotes
When you cry and weep, when you are miserable, you are alone. When you celebrate, the whole existence participates with you. Only in celebration do we meet the ultimate, the eternal. Only in celebration do we go beyond the circle of birth and death.
RajneeshRead
Christianity is NOT a religion; it is the proclamation of the end of religion. Religion is a human activity dedicated to the job of reconciling God to humanity and humanity to itself. The Gospel, however - the Good News of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is the astonishing announcement that God has done the whole work of reconciliation without a scrap of human assistance. It is the bizarre proclamation that religion is over - period.
Robert Farrar CaponRead
Only those with no memory insist on their originality.
Coco ChanelRead
Religion, which never intervenes directly in the government of American society, should therefore be considered as the first of their political institutions
Alexis De TocquevilleRead
People almost invariably arrive at their beliefs not on the basis of proof but on the basis of what they find attractive.
Blaise PascalRead
We are an impossibility in an impossible universe.
Ray BradburyRead