Quotes about war and peace
540 quotes from 231 people
To wage a war for a purely moral reason is as absurd as to ravish a woman for a purely moral reason.
Oscar Wilde1854–1900The Critic as Artist (1891), Part II
George Washington1732–1799Fifth annual Message (3 December 1793)We cannot be both the world’s leading champion of peace and the world’s leading supplier of arms.
Martin Luther King Jr.1929–1968This passage contains some phrases King later used in “Where Do We Go From Here?” (1967) which has a section below.When you appeal to force, there’s one thing you must never do—lose.
Everyone’s a pacifist between wars. It’s like being a vegetarian between meals.
My first wish is to see this plague of mankind, war, banished from the earth.
George Washington1732–1799Letter to David Humphreys (25 July 1785), published in The Writings of George Washington, edited by John C. Fitzpatrick, Vol. 28, pp. 202-3
