War Quotes

Those who fought, those who protested, and those who survived reflect on humanity's darkest impulse.

10745 quotes

T
"War teaches us the value of peace"
Trajan
S
"The soldier who questions orders is a soldier who thinks; such men are invaluable."
Septimius Severus
C
"I have learned that the best defense is a just cause."
Constantine I
D
"The empire stands on the backs of soldiers and slaves."
Domitian
D
"The pen may be mightier than the sword, but swords enforce compliance."
Domitian
C
"Peace without dominion is merely the silence before conquest."
Commodus
C
"War teaches what peace cannot: the value of victory."
Commodus
C
"War is politics by other means, and I excel at both."
Commodus
"War is the failure of leadership and reason."
Vespasian
"The soldier who fights without understanding why is a fool."
Vespasian
"I love the smell of the arena in the morning."
Nero
A
"War may sometimes be necessary, but it is never desirable."
Antoninus Pius
D
"The strength of an empire lies not in its armies, but in the fear it instills."
Domitian
D
"The secret police are the veins through which power flows to the heart."
Domitian
D
"The hand that signs the order is not the hand that executes it."
Domitian
C
"The sand of the arena is stained with the blood of those who underestimated me."
Commodus
C
"War is the failure of all other means."
Claudius
C
"War is proof of civilization's failure."
Claudius
"The war against ignorance is the only war worth fighting without end."
Vespasian
T
"War teaches us what peace truly means."
Titus
T
"War's greatest lesson is the value of peace."
Titus
"War is the continuation of politics by other means."
Caligula
"War does not determine who is right, only who is left."
Caligula
D
"In war, the first casualty is always the truth."
Domitian
D
"The warrior who knows no mercy will find none in his final hour."
Domitian
D
"To acknowledge one's enemy as worthy is the first step toward ending the conflict."
Domitian
"War is the inevitable fate of nations."
Tiberius
"In victory, show mercy; in defeat, show pride."
Tiberius
C
"War teaches us that peace is precious beyond measure."
Claudius
"War is the natural state of mankind; peace is merely delusion."
Caligula