War and Peace

All war is a symptom of man’s failure as a thinking animal.

Wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows.

We used to wonder where war lived, what it was that made it so vile. And now we realize that we know where it lives, that it is inside ourselves.

I look upon the whole world as my fatherland, and every war has to me the horror of a family feud.

The god of Victory is said to be one-handed, but Peace gives victory to both sides.

Serious sport has nothing to do with fair play. It is bound up with hatred, jealousy, boastfulness, disregard of all rules and sadistic pleasure in witnessing violence: in other words, it is war minus the shooting.

When a man wants to murder a tiger he calls it sport: when the tiger wants to murder him he calls it ferocity. The distinction between Crime and Justice is no greater.

THE FASCINATION OF SHOOTING AS A SPORT DEPENDS ALMOST WHOLLY ON WHETHER YOU ARE AT THE RIGHT OR WRONG END OF THE GUN.

Serious sport has nothing to do with fair play. It is bound up with hatred, jealousy, boastfulness, disregard of all rules and sadistic pleasure in witnessing violence: in other words, it is war minus the shooting.

Generals detest generals on their own side far more than they dislike the enemy.

The general was essentially a man of peace, except in his domestic life.

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!

Arm yourselves, and be ye men of valour, and be in readiness for the conflict; for it is better for us to perish in battle than to look upon the outrage of our nation and our altar.

All men have an instinct for conflict: at least, all healthy men.

I do not believe that civilization will be wiped out in a war fought with the atomic bomb. Perhaps two-thirds of the people on Earth would be killed, but enough men capable of thinking, and enough books, would be left to start out again, and civilization would be restored.

As long as nations demand unrestricted sovereignty we shall undoubtedly be faced with still bigger wars, fought with bigger and technologically more advanced weapons.

Japan is now like a great kettle without a safety valve. It does not have enough land to enable its population to exist and develop. The situation must somehow be remedied if we are to avoid a terrible conflict.

Striving for peace and preparing for war are incompatible with each other… Arms must be entrusted only to an international authority.

I am not saying the U.S. should not manufacture and stockpile the bomb, for I believe that it must do so; it must be able to deter another nation from making an atomic attack.

May the conscience and the common sense of the people be awakened, so that we may reach a new stage in the life of nations, where people will look back on war as an incomprehensible aberration of their forefathers!

My participation in the production of the atomic bomb consisted of one single act: I signed a letter to President Roosevelt in which I emphasized the necessity of conducting large-scale experimentation with regard to the feasibility of producing an atom bomb… I felt impelled to take the step because it seemed probable that the Germans might be working on the same problem with every prospect of success. I had no alternative to act as I did, although I have always been a convinced pacifist.

Real progress has never been possible without sacrifices… As long as nations systematically continue to prepare for war, fear, distrust and selfish ambitions will lead to war again.

The more a country makes military weapons, the more insecure it becomes: if you have weapons, you become a target for attack.

I am a dedicated but not an absolute pacifist; this means that I am opposed to the use of force under any circumstances except when confronted by an enemy who pursues the destruction of life as an end in itself .