He asked me, "what were the usual causes or motives that made one country go to war with another?" I answered "they were innumerable; but I should only mention a few of the chief. Sometimes the ambition of princes, who never think they have land or people enough to govern; sometimes the corruption of ministers, who engage their master in a war, in order to stifle or divert the clamour of the subjects against their evil administration. Difference in opinions has cost many millions of lives: for instance, whether flesh be bread, or bread be flesh; whether the juice of a certain berry be blood or wine; whether whistling be a vice or a virtue; whether it be better to kiss a post, or throw it into the fire: what is the best colour for a coat, whether black, white, red, or gray: and whether it should be long or short, narrow or wide, dirty or clean; with many more. Neither are any wars so furious and bloody, or of so long a continuance, especially if it be in things indifferent. . Jonathan Swift
About This Quote

The above quote is from a speech that John Adams gave at the Boston town hall on April 30, 1795. It discusses a very important topic in human society: war. Adams explains that there are many reasons why countries wage war. Sometimes it is to acquire land, other times it is to stifle political opposition, and sometimes it is simply to satisfy a ruler's own vanity. In short, when it comes to war, the taste for blood runs deep in humanity.

Some Similar Quotes
  1. There was a clatter as the basilisk fangs cascaded out of Hermione's arms. Running at Ron, she flung them around his neck and kissed him full on the mouth. Ron threw away the fangs and broomstick he was holding and responded with such enthusiasm that... - J.k. Rowling
  2. They're in love. Fuck the war. - Thomas Pynchon
  3. 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
  4. And when all the wars are over, a butterfly will still be beautiful. - Ruskin Bond
  5. The words ‘I Love You’ kill, and resurrect millions, in less than a second. - Aberjhani
More Quotes By Jonathan Swift
  1. May you live every day of your life.
  2. We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another.
  3. The tiny Lilliputians surmise that Gulliver's watch may be his god, because it is that which, he admits, he seldom does anything without consulting.
  4. That the universe was formed by a fortuitous concourse of atoms, I will no more believe than that the accidental jumbling of the alphabet would fall into a most ingenious treatise of philosophy.
  5. Books, the children of the brain.
Related Topics