War Quotes From Writers, Politicians, and More
March 18, 2023 1:20 AM EST
The following war quotes reflect various opinions on when war is warranted and what causes humans to go to war.
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The Institute for Economics and Peace’s Global Peace Index found that the economic impact of violence on the global economy was $14.5 trillion in 2020, which is equivalent to 11.6% of the world’s gross domestic product.
This statistic highlights the devastating impact of war and violence on global economies and underscores the importance of promoting peace.War plagues thousands of countries worldwide, take millions of lives, and sends many into panic worldwide.
Many declare war as a necessary evil on the path toward peace.
The war quotes below feature opinions on war from:
- prominent military figures
- political leaders
- famous people
What are the benefits of reading these war quotes?
Since the beginning of time, war has been a topic that is widely discussed among powerful, well-known figures.
The balance between war and peace has moved up and down drastically throughout history, leaving many to give their opinions on which decision is the “right” one.
This article gathers opinions on war from all sides of the spectrum.
Hopefully, these war quotes will help you better understand the ramifications of war and how we find ourselves in the position of going to war.
Check out our most popular quote article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily inspiration.
Our inspirational quote category page has even more inspirational and educational quotes.
War quotes from politicians
A study by the United Nations found that in 2020, there were 20.7 million refugees worldwide, and an additional 5.7 million asylum seekers.
This statistic highlights the human cost of war and the importance of striving for peace and stability in the world.
1. “Great is the guilt of an unnecessary war.” – John Adams
![war quotes bout war](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/war-quotes-1.jpg)
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2. “War is evil, but it is often the lesser evil.” – George Orwell
![war quotes for evil](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/war-quotes-2.jpg)
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3. “Man becomes his most creative during war.” – Clint Eastwood
![War quotes from politicians](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/war-quotes-3.jpg)
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4. “I have never advocated war except as a means of peace.” – Ulysses S. Grant
![war quotes about peace](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/war-quotes-4.jpg)
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5. “Our modern states are preparing for war without even knowing the future enemy.” – Alfred Adler
![war quotes about enemy](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/war-quotes-5.jpg)
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6. “In war, you win or lose, live, or die – and the difference is just an eyelash.” – Douglas MacArthur
![war quotes about win or lose and live or die](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/war-quotes-6.jpg)
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7. “A pint of sweat, saves a gallon of blood.” – George S. Patton
![war quotes about a pint of sweat, saves a gallon of blood](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/war-quotes-7.jpg)
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8. “The most successful war seldom pays for its losses.” – Thomas Jefferson
![war quotes about successful](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/war-quotes-8.jpg)
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9. “Wars are not paid for in wartime, the bill comes later.” – Benjamin Franklin
![war quotes from Benjamin Franklin](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/war-quotes-9.jpg)
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10. “The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.” – Sun Tzu
![war quotes on art](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/war-quotes-10.jpg)
If you’re enjoying these quotes, read our collection of Sun Tzu quotes from the iconic warrior and philosopher.
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More war quotes from political figures
According to a study by the International Committee of the Red Cross, civilians accounted for 90% of the casualties in conflicts around the world in 2020.
This statistic highlights the disproportionate impact of war on civilians and underscores the importance of protecting civilian populations in times of conflict.
11. “I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower
![more war quotes](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/war-quotes-11.jpg)
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12. “There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and there are patriots who supported the war in Iraq. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America.” – Barack Obama
![More war quotes from political figures](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/war-quotes-12.jpg)
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13. “The only excuse for war is that we may live in peace unharmed.” – Marcus Tullius Cicero
![top war quotes](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/war-quotes-13.jpg)
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14. “The first casualty when war comes is truth.” – Hiram Johnson
![war quotes about the first casualty when war comes is truth](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/war-quotes-14.jpg)
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15. “War is never a solution; it is an aggravation.” – Benjamin Disraeli
![war quotes about was is never a solution](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/war-quotes-15.jpg)
16. “If there is not the war, you don’t get the great general; if there is not a great occasion, you don’t get a great statesman; if Lincoln had lived in a time of peace, no one would have known his name.” – Theodore Roosevelt
![best war quotes](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/war-quotes-16.jpg)
17. “There’s this romantic idea that’s built up around war. But the pragmatic view is there are tons of people of my generation who have lost their lives, lost their marriages, or lost their health as a consequence of being sent to wars which could have been avoided.” – Pete Buttigieg
![other war quotes](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/war-quotes-17.jpg)
War quotes from writers and philosophers
18. “War is only a cowardly escape from the problems of peace.” – Thomas Mann
![War quotes from writers](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/war-quotes-18.jpg)
19. “What is human warfare but just this; an effort to make the laws of God and nature take sides with one party.” – Henry David Thoreau
![War quotes from writers and philosophers](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/war-quotes-19.jpg)
20. “We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.” – Winston Churchill
![relatable war quotes](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/war-quotes-20.jpg)
21. “Once we have a war there is only one thing to do. It must be won. For defeat brings worse things than any that can ever happen in war.” – Ernest Hemingway
![random war quotes](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/war-quotes-21.jpg)
22. “What charitable 1 percenters can’t do is assume responsibility – America’s national responsibilities: the care of its sick and its poor, the education of its young, the repair of its failing infrastructure, the repayment of its staggering war debts.” – Stephen King
![war quotes form stephen King](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/war-quotes-22.jpg)
23. “War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse.” – John Stuart Mill
![Meaningful war quotes](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/war-quotes-23.jpg)
24. “When the rich wage war, it’s the poor who die.” – Jean-Paul Sartre
![war quotes about when the ich wage war, it's the poor who die](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/war-quotes-24.jpg)
25. “It is not only the living who are killed in war.” – Issac Asimov
![war quotes and sayings](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/war-quotes-25.jpg)
26. “The first and most imperative necessity in war is money, for money means everything else – men, guns, ammunition.” – Ida Tarbell
![war quotes about men, guns, ammunition](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/war-quotes-26.jpg)
27. “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower
![war quotes to helping others](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/war-quotes-27.jpg)
If you’re enjoying these quotes, make sure to read our collection of gun violence quotes that illustrate both sides of this social issue.
28. “War: a massacre of people who don’t know each other for the profit of people who know each other but don’t massacre each other.” – Paul Valery
![war quotes that massacre each other](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/war-quotes-28.jpg)
29. “War is a series of catastrophes which result in victory.” – Albert Pike
![war quotes about war is a seris of catastrophes which result in victory](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/war-quotes-29.jpg)
30. “We are all tourists in history, and irony is what we win in wars.” – Anatole Broyard
![War quotes on society](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/war-quotes-30.jpg)
31. “The art of war is of vital importance to the state. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.” – Sun Tzu
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War quotes on society
32. “We must concentrate not merely on the negative expulsion of war but the positive affirmation of peace.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
33. “It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder.” – Albert Einstein
34. “There is nothing that war has ever achieved that we could not better achieve without it.” – Havelock Ellis
35. “If they are going to have war, they ought to take the old men and leave the young to propagate the race.” – Jeannette Rankin
36. “The great questions of the day will not be settled by means of speeches and majority decisions but by iron and blood.” – Otto von Bismarck
37. “In peace, sons bury their fathers. In war, fathers bury their sons.” – Herodotus
38. “If it’s natural to kill, how come men have to go into training to learn how?” – Joan Baez
39. “I’m fed up to the ears with old men dreaming up wars for young men to die in.” – George McGovern
40. “The State thrives on war – unless, of course, it is defeated and crushed – expands on it, glories in it.” – Murray Rothbard
41. “I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality… I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
42. “A war is a horrible thing, but it’s also a unifier of countries.” – Clint Eastwood
43. “War is the greatest plague that can afflict humanity, it destroys religion, it destroys states, it destroys families. Any scourge is preferable to it.” – Martin Luther
44. “If we desire to avoid insult, we must be able to repel it; if we desire to secure peace, one of the most powerful instruments of our rising prosperity, it must be known, that we are at all times ready for War.” – George Washington
War quotes from military service members
45. “I don’t oppose all wars. What I am opposed to is a dumb war. What I am opposed to is a rash war.” – Barack Obama
46. “Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war that we know about peace, more about killing that we know about living.” – Omar N. Bradley
47. “The military don’t start wars. Politicians start wars.” – William Westmoreland
48. “War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today.” – John F. Kennedy
49. “War is cruelty. There is no use trying to reform it. The crueler it is, the sooner it will be over.” – William Tecumseh Sherman
50. “Every soldier thinks something of the moral aspects of what he is doing. But all war is immoral and if you let that bother you, you’re not a good soldier.” – Curtis LeMay
51. “War is what happens when language fails.” – Margaret Atwood
52. “The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.” – G.K. Chesterton
53. “If I have learned anything in this long life of mine, it is this: in love we find out who we want to be; in war we find out who we are.” – Kristin Hannah
World War quotes
54. “The world is full enough of hurts and mischances without wars to multiply them.” – J.R.R. Tolkien
55. “Wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
56. “War is always an adventure to those who’ve never seen it.” – Anthony Ryan
57. “It is well that war is so terrible, or we should grow too fond of it.” – Robert E. Lee
58. “Politics is war without blood, while war is politics with blood.” – Mao Tse-tung
59. “In war, the strong make slaves of the weak, and in peace, the rich make slaves of the poor.” – Oscar Wilde
60. “It is easier to start a war than to end it.” – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
War quotes about its effects
61. “One of the main effects of war, after all, is that people are discouraged from being characters.” – Kurt Vonnegut
62. “There never was a good war, or a bad peace.” – Benjamin Franklin
63. “War is a severe doctor, but it sometimes heals grievances.” – Edward Counsel
64. “One certain effect of war is to diminish freedom of expression.” – Howard Zinn
65. “War is regarded as nothing but the continuation of state policy with other means.” – Carl Von Clausewitz
66. “I was eighteen, this was back in ’46, so we also had these very frightening images of soldiers in the streets of Paris. So the effect of war, plus my shyness, plus my lack of education – I was afraid of men, really. It changes later, but it took me a certain time to adjust.” – Agnes Varda
67. “Listen up – there’s no war that will end all wars.” – Haruki Murakami
68. “History more often records the brilliant successes and spectacular defeats of contending forces than the effect of war on the common people.” – Mildred Cable
69. “Sometimes you have to pick the gun up to put the gun down.” – Malcolm X
70. “Only the dead have seen the end of war.”― Plato
Thought-provoking war quotes
71. “War does not determine who is right – only who is left.” – Bertrand Russell
72. “To be prepared for war is one of the most effective means of preserving peace.” – George Washington
73. “War is a defeat for humanity.” – Pope John Paul II
74. “The surest way to prevent war is not to fear it.” – John Randolph
75. “But when will our leaders learn – war is not the answer.” – Helen Thomas
76. “I can not believe that war is the best solution. No one won the last war, and no one will win the next war.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
77. “The tragedy of war is that it uses man’s best to do man’s worst.” – Harry Emerson Fosdick
78. “In war there is no prize for runner-up.” – Lucius Annaeus Seneca
79. “War’s not black and white; it’s gray. If you don’t fight in the gray area, you’re going to lose.” – Marcus Luttrell
80. “Strike against war, for without you no battles can be fought!” – Helen Keller
War Quotes To Bring Peace Amongst Us All
81. “This is the nature of war: it turns us into enemies. People who have never met kill each other out of fear.” ― Thich Nhat Hanh
82. “If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.” ― Nelson Mandela
83. “The future can be anything we want it to be, provided we have the faith and that we realize that peace, no less than war, required “blood and sweat and tears.” ― Charles Kettering
84. “As long as there are sovereign nations possessing great power, war is inevitable.” ― Albert Einstein
85. “War settles nothing.” ― Dwight Eisenhower
86. “More than an end to war, we want an end to the beginnings of all wars.” ― Franklin Roosevelt
87. “The greatest crime since World War II has been U.S. foreign policy.” ― Ramsey Clark
88. “Peace is not only better than war, but infinitely more arduous.” ― George Bernard Shaw
89. “For whoever conquers a free Town, and does not demolish it, commits a great Error, and may expect to be ruin ‘d himself.” ― Niccolo Machiavelli
90. “Until we end our own inner war, war will never end.” ― Raven Mardirosian
Are you close to a veteran or active duty member of the military?
As we look at opinions on war throughout history, it’s important to remember and thank the many brave, incredible women and men that have risked their lives to protect our country.
There are reasons many of us can live normal, happy lives.
If you know of a veteran or an active duty military member, reach out to them and tell them how much they mean to you.
A simple letter, phone call, or text message can make their day and remind them of their bravery.
Is there a quote above that you agree with?
Do you have any other war quotes and sayings to add?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
william Ryan
March 24, 2020 at 5:12 AM
that violence solves nothing is a popular misconception. No social injustice has been rectified nor any social advance secured without violence.