There never was a good war or a bad peace.
—Benjamin Franklin, 1773
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Quotes
Soldiers in peace are like chimneys in summer.
—William Cecil, Lord Burghley, c. 1555As peace is of all goodness, so war is an emblem, a hieroglyphic, of all misery.
—John Donne, 1622I detest war. It spoils armies.
—Grand Duke Constantine of Russia, c. 1820You furnish the pictures, and I’ll furnish the war.
—William Randolph Hearst, 1898Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.
—Mao Zedong, 1938War is the child of pride, and pride the daughter of riches.
—Jonathan Swift, 1697You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you.
—Leon TrotskyWar is sweet to those who don’t know it.
—Erasmus, 1508I am tired and sick of war. Its glory is all moonshine. War is hell.
—William Tecumseh Sherman, 1879I went [to war] because I couldn’t help it. I didn’t want the glory or the pay; I wanted the right thing done.
—Louisa May Alcott, 1863The fear of war is worse than war itself.
—Seneca, c. 50A dead enemy always smells good.
—Aulus Vitellius, 69