Essay & Quotes

Quotes:

Patriotism:

Samuel Johnson: Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.

Guy de Masupassant: Patriotism is a kind of religion; it is the egg from which wars are hatched.

Oscar Wilde: Patriotism is the virtue of the vicious.

Einstein: Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind.

S. Decatur: Our country: in her intercourse with foreign nations may she always be in the right; but our country, right or wrong!

War:

Dolores Ibarruri: It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.

Byron: Hereditary bondsmen! Know  ye not. Who would be free, themselves must strike the blow!

Bacon: A civil war is like the heat of a fever; but a foreign war is like the heat of exercise, and serveth to keep the body in health.

Hegel: War has the deep meaning that by it the ethical health of nations is preserved and their finite aims uprooted. And as the winds which sweep over the ocean prevent the decay that would result from its perpetual calm, so war protects the people from the corruption which an everlasting peace would bring upon it.

Flavius Vegetius Renatus: Let him who desires peace prepare for war.

Thucydides: To you who call yourselves men of peace, I say: You are not safe unless you have men of action at your side.

Jefferson: Establish the eternal truth that acquiescence under insult is not the way to escape war.

Cardinal Richelieu: First, all means to conciliate; failing that, all means to crush.

Machiavelli: There are two ways of contending, by law and by force; the first is proper to men the second to beasts; but because many times the first is insufficient, recourse must be had to the second.

Clausewitz: War is the continuation of politics by other means.

Francis Meechan: Men are at war with one another because each man is at war with himself.

Heraclitus: War is the father of all changes.

F. von Bernhadi: War is a biological necessity.

A. Ponsonby: When war is declared, Truth is the first casualty.

UNESCO constitution: Since war begins in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed.

Erasmus: The most disadvantageous peace is better than the most just war.

Mussolini: War alone brings up to its highest tension all human energy and puts the stamp of nobility upon the people who have the courage to face it.

C. Summer: War crushes with bloody heel all justice, all happiness, all that is God-like in man. In our age there can be no peace that is not honourable; there can be no war that is not dishonourable.

Essay Questions:

• It has been states that ‘War has never achieved anything and never will.’ How far do you agree with this statement?
• Has war ever been justifiable?
• In what circumstances is the invasion of one country by another justified?
• Can the trade in weapons ever be justified?
• ‘The decisive use of force is the only practical means to resolve territorial conflicts.’ Discuss.
• What are the main causes of international tension today?
• The problems of survival for mankind have never been so great as they are today. Do you agree?
• How can we build friendship between nations?
• ‘To ensure peace, it is vital to prepare for war.’ To what extent is such a viewpoint justifiable?
• Throughout history, men have been willing to fight and die for freedom. Why?
• Patriotism is a dangerous emotion. Discuss.
• ‘It is a sweet and honourable thing to die for one’s country.’ The poet Wilfred Owen described this saying as ‘the old lie.’ Do you agree?
• ‘Nuclear weapons have ceased to serve any purpose and should be abolished.’ Discuss.
• ‘The prospect of a Third World War is now unthinkable.’ Do you agree?
• ‘The scientist, far from being man’s friend, is today his greatest enemy.’ Discuss.
• How far should scientists be made responsible for the uses made of their discoveries?
• Is History anything more than the study of warfare?
• What, if anything, have the great empires of the world achieved?
• To what extent should the two superpowers (USA & USSR) be involved in the affairs of other countries?