Quotes on War

Rapidity is the essence of war: take advantage of the enemy's unreadiness, make your way by unexpected routes, and attack unguarded spots.

Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.

Therefore the good fighter will be terrible in his onset, and prompt in his decision.

If it is to your advantage, make a forward move; if not, stay where you are.

There are five dangerous faults which may affect a general: recklessness, which leads to destruction; cowardice, which leads to capture; a hasty temper, which can be provoked by insults; a delicacy of honour, which is sensitive to shame; over-solicitude for his men, which exposes him to worry and trouble.

Controlled, universal disarmament is the imperative of our time. The demand for it by the hundreds of millions whose chief concern is the long future of themselves and their children will, I hope, become so universal and so insistent that no man, no government anywhere, can withstand it.

I do not mean to exclude altogether the idea of patriotism. I know it exists, and I know it has done much in the present contest. But I will venture to assert, that a great and lasting war can never be supported on this principle alone. It must be aided by a prospect of interest, or some reward.

War is not in itself a condition so much as the symptom of a condition, that of international anarchy. If we wish to substitute for war the settlement of disputes by justice, we must first substitute for the condition of international anarchy a condition of international order

Our “neoconservatives” are neither new nor conservative, but old as Babylon and evil as Hell.

Violence, even well intentioned, always rebounds upon oneself.

A war, or any wild-goose chase, is, as the vulgar use the phrase, a lucky turn-up of patronage for the minister, whose chief merit is the art of keeping himself in place.

One of the most fashionable notions of our times is that social problems like poverty and oppression breed wars. Most wars, however, are started by well-fed people with the time on their hands to dream up half-baked ideologies or grandiose ambitions, and to nurse real or imagined grievances.

Peace, which costs nothing, is attended with infinitely more advantage than any victory with all its expence.

Economically considered, war and revolution are always bad business.

Warfare is the father of all good things, it is also the father of good prose!

But every soil becomes finally exhausted, and the ploughshare of evil must always come once more.

To be the equal of one's opponent-this is the first condition of an honourable duel.

Where one despises, one cannot wage war.

A Dionysian life task needs the hardness of the hammer and one of its first essentials is without doubt the joy to be found even in destruction.

The task is not to overcome opponents in general but only those opponents against whom one has to summon all one's strength, one's skill and one's swordsmanship-in fact to master opponents who are one's equals.

Better to reign in hell than serve in heav'n.