Quotes on Great War

There were many words that you could not stand to hear and finally only the names of places had dignity. Abstract words such as glory, honor, courage, or hallow were obscene.

There was no really good true war book during the entire four years of the war. The only true writing that came through during the war was in poetry. One reason for this is that poets are not arrested as quickly as prose writers.

In the account book of the Great War the page recording the Russian losses has been ripped out. The figures are unknown. Five millions, or eight? We ourselves know not. All we know is that, at times, fighting the Russians, we had to remove the piles of enemy bodies from before our trenches, so as to get a clear field of fire against new waves of assault.

'Emergencies' have always been the pretext on which the safeguards of individual liberty have been eroded.

The bombs in Vietnam explode at home; they destroy the hopes and possibilities for a decent America.

A lasting order cannot be established by bayonets.

Society has arisen out of the works of peace; the essence of society is peacemaking. Peace and not war is the father of all things.

War...is harmful, not only to the conquered but to the conqueror.

When people speak to you about a preventive war, you tell them to go and fight it. After my experience, I have come to hate war.

Statism needs war; a free country does not. Statism survives by looting; a free country survives by producing.

How vile and despicable war seems to me! I would rather be hacked to pieces than take part in such an abominable business.

Economically considered, war and revolution are always bad business.

[T]he essence of so-called war prosperity: it enriches some by what it takes from others. It is not rising wealth but a shifting of wealth and income.

Preventive war was an invention of Hitler. I would not even listen to anyone seriously that came and talked about such a thing.

He was tall as a young tree, lithe, immensely strong, able swiftly to draw a great war-bow and shoot down a Nazgûl, endowed with the tremendous vitality of Elvish bodies, so hard and resistant to hurt that he went only in light shoes over rock or through snow, the most tireless of all the Fellowship.

War is an instrument entirely inefficient toward redressing wrong; and multiplies, instead of indemnifying losses.

The most successful war seldom pays for its losses.

The spirit of this country is totally adverse to a large military force.

Conquest is not in our principles. It is inconsistent with our government.

I abhor war and view it as the greatest scourge of mankind.

I hope our wisdom will grow with our power, and teach us, that the less we use our power the greater it will be.