Young men make wars, and the virtues of war are the virtues of young men: courage, and hope for the future. Then old men make the peace, and the vices of peace are the vices of old men: mistrust and caution.
Interpretation
This quote reflects the contrasting values of youth and age in the context of war and peace.
Alec Guinness suggests that young men are often the instigators of wars, driven by virtues such as courage and an optimistic vision for the future. In contrast, older men, having experienced the consequences of conflict, tend to approach peace with a mindset colored by mistrust and caution, highlighting the differences in perspective that come with age and experience.
In practice
In a discussion on the motivations behind historical conflicts.
An Actor is an interpreter of other men's words, often a soul which wishes to reveal itself to the world but dare not, a craftsman, a bag of tricks, a vanity bag, a cool observer of mankind, a child and at his best a kind of unfrocked priest who, for an hour or two, can call on heaven and hell to mesmerize a group of innocents.
All central beliefs on human matters spring from a personal predicament.
Far, far below the deepest delvings of the dwarves, the world is gnawed by nameless things.
I think that hell essentially is separation from God forever. And that is the worst hell that I can think of. But I think people have a hard time believing God is going to allow people to burn in literal fire forever. I think the fire that is mentioned in the Bible is a burning thirst for God that can never be quenched.
Let our lives be good, and the times are good. We make our times; such as we are, such are the times.
With every step of our lives we enter into the middle of some story which we are certain to misunderstand.
I would do what I pleased, and doing what I pleased, I should have my will, and having my will, I should be contented; and when one is contented, there is no more to be desired; and when there is no more to be desired, there is an end of it.
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