QuoteProject
Wars begin in the minds of men, and in those minds, love andcompassion would have built the defenses of peace.
U Thant
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The roots of conflict lie in human thoughts; fostering love and compassion can create a foundation for peace.

This quote by U Thant emphasizes the idea that the origin of wars and conflicts is not just political or territorial, but predominantly resides in the human mind. It suggests that promoting love and compassion in our thoughts and interactions can serve as crucial defenses against the emergence of war, ultimately advocating for peace through understanding and empathy.

Themes

WarPeaceLoveCompassionHumanityMindThoughts

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be used in a speech on peacebuilding and conflict resolution.

More from U Thant

The war we have to wage today has only one goal, and that is to make the world safe for diversity.
U ThantRead
Every human being, of whatever origin, of whatever station, deserves respect. We must each respect others even as we respect ourselves.
U ThantRead
As a Buddhist, I was trained to be tolerant of everything except intolerance
U ThantRead
As we watch the sun go down, evening after evening, through the smog across the poisoned waters of our native earth, we must ask ourselves seriously whether we really wish some future universal historian on another planet to say about us: "With all their genius and with all their skill, they ran out of foresight and air and food and water and ideas," or, They went on playing politics until their world collapsed around them.
U ThantRead

Similar quotes

Making fake biography, false history, concocting a half-imaginary existence out of the actual drama of my life is my life.
Philip RothRead
We are our stories. We tell them to stay alive or keep alive those who only live now in the telling.
Niall WilliamsRead
It was a wine jar when the molding began: as the wheel runs round why does it turn out a water pitcher?
HoraceRead
If you are never alone you cannot know yourself. And if you do not know yourself, you will begin to fear the void.
Paulo CoelhoRead
The guilty one is not he who commits the sin, but he who causes the darkness.
Victor HugoRead
The first care of every Christian ought to be to lay aside all reliance on works, and strengthen his faith alone more and more, and by it grow in the knowledge, not of works, but of Christ Jesus, who has suffered and risen again for him.
Martin LutherRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.