WIST Quotations

Franklin, Benjamin -- Poor Richard (1747 ed.)

Dave — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 14:40:42 +0000

One to destroy, is Murder by the Law,
And Gibbets keep the lifted Hand in Awe.
To murder Thousands, takes a specious Name,
War’s glorious Art, and gives immortal Fame.
O great Alliance! O divine Renown!
With Death and Pestilence to share the Crown!
When Men extol a wild Destroyer’s Name,
Earth’s Builder and Preserver they blaspheme.

Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
Poor Richard (1747 ed.)
(Source)

This lengthy poem is not original to Franklin, but was penned by English poet Edward Young (1683-1765) in 1728, as the 7th Satire in his collection of poems, Love of Fame, the Universal Passion, l. 53ff, dedicated to Robert Walpole. Interestingly, Franklin reordered the passage; in Young's original the two quatrains are reversed. Franklin also changed the passage "dearth and pestilence" to "death and pestilence."

James, William -- Essay (1910-02), “The Moral Equivalent of War,” Popular Science Monthly, Vol. 77 (1910-10)

Dave — Wed, 01 Oct 2025 23:28:19 +0000

Without any exception known to me, militarist authors take a highly mystical view of their subject, and regard war as a biological or sociological necessity, uncontrolled by ordinary psychological checks or motives. When the time of development is ripe the war must come, reason or no reason, for the justifications pleaded are invariably fictions. War is, in short, a permanent human obligation.

William James (1842–1910) American psychologist and philosopher
Essay (1910-02), “The Moral Equivalent of War,” Popular Science Monthly, Vol. 77 (1910-10)
(Source)

Asquith, Margot -- Autobiography, Vol. 2, 3 Aug 1914 (1922)

Dave — Mon, 12 Sep 2022 19:23:42 +0000

From the happy expression on their faces you might have supposed that they welcomed the war. I have met with men who loved stamps, and stones, and snakes, but I could not imagine any man loving war.

Margot Asquith (1864–1945) British socialite, author, wit [Emma Margaret Asquith, Countess Oxford and Asquith; Margot Oxford; née Tennant]
Autobiography, Vol. 2, 3 Aug 1914 (1922)
(Source)

Of the cheering crowds outside 10 Downing Street on 3 Aug 1914, the night before the British Government (with her husband as Prime Minister) declared war against Germany.

Holland, Barbara -- “War,” Wasn’t the Grass Greener? (1999)

Dave — Mon, 16 May 2022 16:10:12 +0000

If a quick glance back over world history shows us anything, it shows us that war was one of our most universal joys from our earliest beginnings, savored at every possible opportunity and even some quite incomprehensible ones, like the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, whomever he may have been.

Barbara Holland (1933–2010) American author
“War,” Wasn’t the Grass Greener? (1999)
(Source)

First appeared in Smithsonian (Jun 1992).

Commager, Henry Steele -- Essay (1947-09), “Who Is Loyal to America?” sec. 3, Harper’s Magazine, Vol. 195, No. 1168

Dave — Wed, 05 Jan 2022 15:25:55 +0000

Who are those who are really disloyal? Those who inflame racial hatreds, who sow religious and class dissensions. Those who subvert the Constitution by violating the freedom of the ballot box. Those who make a mockery of majority rule by the use of the filibuster. Those who impair democracy by denying equal educational facilities. Those who frustrate justice by lynch law or by making a farce of jury trials. Those who deny freedom of speech and of the press and of assembly. Those who press for special favors against the interest of the commonwealth. Those who regard public office as a source of private gain. Those who would exalt the military over the civil. Those who for selfish and private purposes stir up national antagonisms and expose the world to the ruin of war.

Henry Steele Commager (1902–1998) American historian, writer, activist
Essay (1947-09), “Who Is Loyal to America?” sec. 3, Harper’s Magazine, Vol. 195, No. 1168
(Source)

Regarding disloyalty tests and loyalty oaths. Reprinted in Freedom, Loyalty, Dissent (1954).

Mahan, A. T. -- (Attributed)

Dave — Mon, 20 Jul 2020 20:41:21 +0000

As far as the advocacy of peace rests on material motives like economy and prosperity, it is the service of Mammon; and the bottom of the platform will drop out when Mammon thinks that war will pay better.

A. T. Mahan (1840–1914) American admiral, strategist, historian [Alfred Thayer Mahan]
(Attributed)
(Source)

Attributed in William Ralph Inge, "The Indictment against Christianity" (1917), Outspoken Essays, ch. 10 (1919).

Brecht, Bertholt -- Mother Courage and Her Children, sc. 6 (1939)

Dave — Thu, 29 Oct 2015 13:18:16 +0000

CHAPLAIN: War is like love, it always finds a way.

Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956) German poet, playwright, director, dramaturgist
Mother Courage and Her Children, sc. 6 (1939)