Quotes about peace
page 20

Ryan Adams photo

“Trying to find a peaceful song”

Ryan Adams (1974) American alt-country/rock singer-songwriter

Peaceful Valley
29 (2005)

Winston S. Churchill photo

“It is not given to us to peer into the mysteries of the future. Still, I avow my hope and faith, sure and inviolate, that in the days to come the British and American peoples will for their own safety and for the good of all walk together side by side in majesty, in justice, and in peace.”

Ending of the Speech to a joint session of the United States Congress, Washington, D.C. (26 December 1941); reported in Winston S. Churchill: His Complete Speeches, 1897–1963, ed. Robert Rhodes James (1974), vol. 6, p. 6541. The Congressional Record reports that this speech was followed by "Prolonged applause, the Members of the Senate and their guests rising"; Congressional Record, vol. 87, p. 10119.
The Second World War (1939–1945)

Margaret Mead photo
Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston photo

“…he thinks that peace is, of all things, the best, and that war is, of all things, the worst. Now, Sir, I happen to be of opinion that there are things for which peace may be advantageously sacrificed, and that there are calamities which a nation may endure which are far worse than war. This has been the opinion of men in all ages whose conduct has been admired by their contemporaries, and has obtained for them the approbation of posterity. The hon. Member, however, reduces everything to the question of pounds, shillings, and pence, and I verily believe that if this country were threatened with an immediate invasion likely to end in its conquest, the hon. Member would sit down, take a piece of paper, and would put on one side of the account the contributions which his Government would require from him for the defence of the liberty and independence of the country, and he would put on the other the probable contributions which the general of the invading army might levy upon Manchester, and if he found that, on balancing the account, it would be cheaper to be conquered than to be laid under contribution for defence, he would give his vote against going to war for the liberties and independence of the country, rather than bear his share in the expenditure which it would entail.”

Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (1784–1865) British politician

Speech http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1854/mar/31/war-with-russia-the-queens-message in the House of Commons on the debate on war with Russia (31 March 1854).
1850s

George W. Bush photo
Bill Maher photo
Nile Kinnick photo
Fidel Castro photo
Bill Hybels photo

“Perfect peace comes only through relating with the Peacemaker himself.”

Bill Hybels (1951) American writer

Too Busy Not to Pray (2008, InterVarsity Press)

Winston S. Churchill photo

“Everyone can see how communism rots the soul of a nation. How it makes it abject in peace and proves it abominable in war.”

Part of a speech played on the documentary Timewatch - Russia: A Century of Suspicion.
The Second World War (1939–1945)

Calvin Coolidge photo

“I'm not scared of dying
And I, don't really care
If it' s peace you find in dying
Well then, let the time be near.”

Laura Nyro (1947–1997) American musician and songwriter

"And When I Die"
Lyrics

Prem Rawat photo
Semyon Timoshenko photo

“Peoples of all the warring countries are trying to put an end to the war, to establish peace. And we believe that they will get peace. And the sooner they get peace the better.”

Semyon Timoshenko (1895–1970) Soviet military commander

Quoted in "The American review on the Soviet Union" - Page 10 - by American Russian Institute - 1938

Abraham Davenport photo
William Cobbett photo

“A full belly to the labourer was, in my opinion, the foundation of public morals and the only source of real public peace.”

William Cobbett (1763–1835) English pamphleteer, farmer and journalist

Source: The Autobiography of William Cobbett (1933), Ch. 12, pp. 185-186.

Karl Kraus photo
Phillips Brooks photo

“O morning stars, together
Proclaim the holy birth!
And praises sing to God the King,
And peace to men on earth.”

Phillips Brooks (1835–1893) American clergyman and author

O little Town of Bethlehem, 2nd stanza http://books.google.com/books?id=Uh03AAAAMAAJ&q=%22O+morning+stars+together+Proclaim+the+holy+birth+And+praises+sing+to+God+the+King+And+peace+to+men+on+earth%22&pg=PA15#v=onepage (1868).

Calvin Coolidge photo

“Ever since the last great conflict the world has been putting a renewed emphasis, not on preparation to succeed in war, but on an attempt by preventing war to succeed in peace. This movement has the full and complete approbation of the American Government and the American people. While we have been unwilling to interfere in the political relationship of other countries and have consistently refrained from intervening except when our help has been sought and we have felt that it could be effectively given, we have signified our willingness to become associated with other nations in a practical plan for promoting international justice through the World Court. Such a tribunal furnishes a method of the adjustment of international differences in accordance with our treaty rights and under the generally accepted rules of international law. When questions arise which all parties agree ought to be adjudicated but which do not yield to the ordinary methods of diplomacy, here is a forum to which the parties may voluntarily repair in the consciousness that their dignity suffers no diminution and that their cause will be determined impartially, according to the law and the evidence. That is a sensible, direct, efficient, and practical method of adjusting differences which can not fail to appeal to the intelligence of the American people.”

Calvin Coolidge (1872–1933) American politician, 30th president of the United States (in office from 1923 to 1929)

1920s, Ways to Peace (1926)

Charlotte Brontë photo
Hillary Clinton photo
Nelson Mandela photo
Abigail Adams photo
Robert Owen photo
Mary Howitt photo

“Yes, in the poor man's garden grow
Far more than herbs and flowers—
Kind thoughts, contentment, peace of mind,
And joy for weary hours.”

Mary Howitt (1799–1888) English poet, and author

The poor Man's , reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).

Tawakkol Karman photo
Michael Johns photo
Ayn Rand photo
Clement Attlee photo
Clement Attlee photo
Muhammad photo
A. C. Gibbs photo

“Allow me to congratulate you, and, through you, the people of Oregon, that peace and prosperity surround us. The prospects for Oregon were never more promising, save the shadows from the fires of secession which are blazing around our childhood homes. Though we have had a winter of unprecedented severity and devastating floods, no traitorous hand has been raised to tear down our national flag and subvert our beloved institutions.”

A. C. Gibbs (1825–1886) American politician

A. C. Gibbs (September 1862) " Governor A. C. Gibbs Inaugural Address, 1862 http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/Recordpdf/6777833", Oregon State Archives, Oregon Secretary of State, Source: Journals. Local Laws Oregon., 1862, Appendix, Special Message, Page 58.

Jim Starlin photo
Stanley Baldwin photo
Frederick Douglass photo
Kit Carson photo

“Shortly after the ignominious expulsion of the Texas invaders, General J. H. Carleton was appointed to the command of this Department, and with the greatest promptitude he turned his attention to the freeing of the Territory from these lawless savages. To this great work he brought many years' experience and a perfect knowledge of the means to effect that end. He saw that the thirty (30) millions of dollars expended and the many lives lost in the former attempts at the subjugation, would not have been profitless, had not there been something radically wrong in the policy pursued. He was not long in ascertaining that treaties were as promises written in sand. nor in discovering that they had no recognized 'Head' authority to represent them; that each chief's influence and authority was immediately confined to his own followers or people; that any treaty signed by one or more of these chiefs had no binding effect on the remainder, and that there were a large number of the worst characters who acknowledged no chief at all. Hence it was that on all occasions when treaties were made, one party were continuing their depredations, whilst the other were making peace. And hence it was apparent that treaties were absolutely powerless for good. He adopted a new policy, i. e., placing them on a reservation (the wisdom of which is already manifest); a new era dawned on New Mexico, and the dying hope of the people was again revived; never more I trust, to meet with disappointment. He first organized a force against the Mescalero Apaches, which I had the honor to command. After a short and inexpensive campaign, the Mescaleros were placed on their present reservation.”

Kit Carson (1809–1868) American frontiersman and Union Army general

Letter to General James Henry Carleton (May 17, 1864)

Mohamed Nasheed photo
Frans de Waal photo
Warren Farrell photo

“By attending to the conscious part of ourselves, we contribute to the peace of others as well as ourselves.”

Warren Farrell (1943) author, spokesperson, expert witness, political candidate

Source: Interview by Jonathan Robinson (1994), p. 134.

John Flavel photo

“Faith is the bond of union, the instrument of justification, the spring of spiritual peace and joy, the means of spiritual peace and subsistence.”

John Flavel (1627–1691) English Presbyterian clergyman

Source: Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895), P. 228.

Chris Hedges photo

“Of the past 3,400 years, humans have been entirely at peace for 268 of them, or just 8 percent of recorded history.”

Chris Hedges (1956) American journalist

What Every Person Should Know About War

Victor Borge photo

“(Shortly after Germany forced Denmark to sign a non-aggression pact in 1939) How nice. Now the Germans can sleep in peace, knowing that they will not be invaded by us.”

Victor Borge (1909–2000) Danish and US-American comedian and musician

From the obit in The Independent.
Quotations from Borge's performances

Cormac McCarthy photo
Jimmy Carter photo

“I never felt that my dedication to military service was a violation of my faith in Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace.”

Jimmy Carter (1924) American politician, 39th president of the United States (in office from 1977 to 1981)

Page 147
Post-Presidency, Our Endangered Values (2005)

Leopoldo Galtieri photo
Geert Wilders photo

“What I'm trying to do when I visit your beautiful country, Australia, is warn Australians that even though it might not be the case today, learn from the mistakes that we made in Europe: be vigilant and look at Islam for what it really is. Islam is not a religion of peace.”

Geert Wilders (1963) Dutch politician

Anti-Islam campaigner coming to Australia http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2013/s3689995.htm. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Broadcast: 13/02/2013. Reporter: Tony Jones.
2010s

John Greenleaf Whittier photo

“Press bravely onward! — not in vain
Your generous trust in human kind;
The good which bloodshed could not gain
Your peaceful zeal shall find.”

John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–1892) American Quaker poet and advocate of the abolition of slavery

To the Reformers of England, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919)

Arundhati Roy photo
Ralph Bunche photo
Martin Luther King, Jr. photo

“And as I ponder the madness of Vietnam and search within myself for ways to understand and respond in compassion, my mind goes constantly to the people of that peninsula. I speak not now of the soldiers of each side, not of military government in Saigon, but simply of the people who have been under the curse of war for almost three continuous decades now. I think of them too because it is clear to me that there will be no meaningful solution until some attempt is made to know these people and hear their broken cries. Now let me tell you the truth about it. They must see Americans as strange liberators. Do you realize that the Vietnamese people proclaimed their own independence in 1945, after a combined French and Japanese occupation. And incidentally, this was before the communist revolution in China. They were led by Ho Chi Minh. And this is a little known fact, these people declared themselves independent in 1945, they quoted our Declaration of Independence in their document of freedom. And yet our government refused to recognize, President Truman said they were not ready for independence. So we failed victim as a nation at that time of the same deadly arrogance that has poisoned the international situation for all of these years. France then set out to reconquer its former colony. And they fought eight long, hard, brutal years, trying to reconquer Vietnam. You know who helped France? It was the United States of America, it came to the point that we were meeting more than 80% of the war cost. And even when France started despairing of its reckless action, we did not. And in 1954, a conference was called at Geneva, and an agreement was reached, because France had been defeated at Dien Bien Phu. But even after that and even after the Geneva Accord, we did not stop. We must face the sad fact that our government sought in a real sense to sabotage the Geneva Accord. Well, after the French were defeated, it looked as if independence and land reform would come through the Geneva agreement. But instead the United States came and started supporting a man named Diem, who turned out to be one of the most ruthless dictators in the history of the world. He set out to silence all opposition, people were brutally murdered merely because they raised their voices against the brutal policies of Diem. And the peasants watched and cringed as Diem ruthlessly rooted out all opposition. The peasants watched as all this was presided over by United States influence, and then by increasing numbers of United States troops, who came to help quell the insurgency that Diem's methods had aroused. When Diem was overthrown they may have been happy, but the long line of military dictatorships seemed to offer no real change, especially in terms of their need for land and peace. And who are we supporting in Vietnam today? It's a man by the name of General Ky, who fought with the French against his own people, and who said on one occasion that the greatest hero of his life is Hitler. This is who we're supporting in Vietnam today. Oh, our government, and the press generally, won't tell us these things, but God told me to tell you this morning. The truth must be told.”

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968) American clergyman, activist, and leader in the American Civil Rights Movement

1960s, Why I Am Opposed to the War in Vietnam (1967)

Adelaide Anne Procter photo

“Joy is like restless day; but peace divine
Like quiet night;
Lead me, O Lord, — till perfect Day shall shine
Through Peace to Light.”

Adelaide Anne Procter (1825–1864) English poet and songwriter

"Per Pacem ad Lucem".
A Chaplet of Verses (1862)

Hillary Clinton photo
Raymond Poincaré photo

“The most powerful figure in French politics after the retirement of Clemenceau was ex-President Poincaré. He disliked the Treaty [of Versailles] intensely. For several years after the withdrawal of Clemenceau, the policy of France was dominated by this rather sinister little man. He represented the vindictive and arrogant mood of the governing classes in France immediately after her terrible sacrifices and her astounding victory. He directly and indirectly governed France for years. All the Premiers who followed after Clemenceau feared Poincaré. Millerand was his creature. Briand, who was all for the League and a policy of appeasement, was thwarted at every turn by the intrigues of Poincaré. Under his influence, which continued for years after his death, the League became not an instrument of peace and goodwill amongst all men, including Germans; it was converted into an organisation for establishing on a permanent footing the military and thereby the diplomatic supremacy of France. That policy completely discredited the League as a body whose decisions on disputes between nations might be trusted to be as impartial as those of any ordinary tribunal in any civilised country. The obligations entered into by the Allies as to disarmament were not fulfilled. British Ministers put up no fight against the betrayal of the League and the pledges as to disarmament. Hence the Nazi Revolution, which has for the time—maybe for a long time—destroyed the hopes of a new era of peaceful co-operation amongst free nations.”

Raymond Poincaré (1860–1934) 10th President of the French Republic

David Lloyd George, The Truth about the Peace Treaties. Volume II (London: Victor Gollancz, 1938), p. 1410.
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Martin Buber photo

“To win a truly great life for the people of Israel, a great peace is necessary, not a fictitious peace, the dwarfish peace that is no more than a feeble intermission, but a true peace with the neighboring peoples, which alone can render possible a common development of this portion of the earth as the vanguard of the awakening Near East.”

Martin Buber (1878–1965) German Jewish Existentialist philosopher and theologian

"Our Reply" (September 1945), as published in A Land of Two Peoples : Martin Buber on Jews and Arabs (1983) edited by Paul Mendes-Flohr, p. 178
Variant translation: Only a true peace with neighboring peoples can render possible a common development of this portion of the earth as a vanguard of the awakening of the Near East.

Lester B. Pearson photo
Fred Polak photo
Kenneth N. Waltz photo

“Is it capitalism or states that must be destroyed in order to get peace, or must both be abolished?”

Source: Man, the State, and War (1959), Chapter V, Some Implications Of The Second Image, p. 127

George H. W. Bush photo
William McKinley photo

“War should never be entered upon until every agency of peace has failed.”

William McKinley (1843–1901) American politician, 25th president of the United States (in office from 1897 to 1901)

First Inaugural Address (March 4, 1897).
1890s

George W. Bush photo
Muhammad photo
Merrill McPeak photo
Natan Sharansky photo
Prem Rawat photo
André Maurois photo
Russell L. Ackoff photo

“Planning is the design of a desired future and of effective ways of bringing it about. It is an instrument that is used by the wise, but not by the wise alone. When conducted by lesser men it often becomes an irrelevant ritual that produces short-run peace of mind, but not the future that is longed for.”

Russell L. Ackoff (1919–2009) Scientist

Source: 1960s, A concept of corporate planning, 1969, p. 1 as cited in: George David Hughes (1997) Marketing management: a planning approach. p. 14 and many other works.

Van Morrison photo
Tawakkol Karman photo

“My aim for now is to lead a peaceful revolution to remove this regime. I think if I can be in the street with the people I can achieve more than if I am the president.”

Tawakkol Karman (1979) Yemeni journalist, politician, human rights activist, and Nobel Peace Prize recipient

2010s, Tawakul Karman, Yemeni activist, and thorn in the side of Saleh (2011)

P. W. Botha photo

“Lord Milner had, in the forced Peace of Vereeniging ensured that there was to be no franchise for black people after the introduction of self-government – which was never intended. It was only after half a century that an Afrikaner government started doing something about black rights.”

P. W. Botha (1916–2006) South African prime minister

As state president, unveiling a monument to Boer War victims at Delareyville, 10 October 1985, as cited in PW Botha in his own words, Pieter-Dirk Uys, 1987, p. 34

James Comey photo
Frederick Douglass photo
Preston Manning photo
Richard Nixon photo

“In consequence of the great fear which fell upon Jaipál, who confessed he had seen death before the appointed time, he sent a deputation to the Amír soliciting peace, on the promise of his paying down a sum of money, and offering to obey any order he might receive respecting his elephants and his country. The Amir Subuktigín consented on account of mercy he felt towards those who were his vassals, or for some other reason which seemed expedient to him. But the Sultán Yamínu-d daula Mahmúd addressed the messengers in a harsh voice, and refused to abstain from battle, until he should obtain a complete victory suited to his zeal for the honour of Islám and the Musulmáns, and one which he was confident God would grant to his arms. So they returned, and Jaipál being in great alarm, again sent the most humble supplications that the battle might cease saying, "You have seen the impetuosity of the Hindus and their indifference to death, whenever any calamity befalls them, as at this moment. If therefore, you refuse to grant peace in the hope of obtaining plunder, tribute, elephants and prisoners, then there is no alternative for us but to mount the horse of stern determination, destroy our property, take out the eyes of our elephants, cast our children into fire, and rush out on each other with sword and spear, so that all that will be left to you to conquer and seize is stones and dirt, dead bodies, and scattered bones."”

Sabuktigin (942–997) Founder of the Ghaznavid Empire

Elliot and Dowson, History of India as told by its own Historians, Volume II, pp. 20-21. Translation of Tarikh-i-Yamini of al-Utbi.

Bawa Muhaiyaddeen photo
George William Russell photo
Lyndon B. Johnson photo

“Our government is united in its determination to take all necessary measures in support of freedom and in defense of peace in Southeast Asia.”

Lyndon B. Johnson (1908–1973) American politician, 36th president of the United States (in office from 1963 to 1969)

Report on the Gulf of Tonkin Incident https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dx8-ffiYyzA (4 August 1964)
1960s

Larry Hogan photo

“We are working around the clock to ensure Baltimore City remains at peace, as it has throughout the day. The presence of the National Guard, Maryland State Police, and other law enforcement officials will continue in the days to come to ensure order is fully restored for the citizens of Baltimore.”

Larry Hogan (1956) American politician

" Governor Larry Hogan Mobilizes State Resources To Support Baltimore City Law Enforcement Response http://governor.maryland.gov/2015/04/28/governor-larry-hogan-mobilizes-state-resources-to-support-baltimore-city-law-enforcement-response/" (28 April 2015).

Winston S. Churchill photo
Kamisese Mara photo
Pierre Teilhard De Chardin photo

“We are like soldiers who fall during the assault which leads to peace.”

Pierre Teilhard De Chardin (1881–1955) French philosopher and Jesuit priest

The Divinisation of Our Activities, p. 85
The Divine Milieu (1960)

John Cowper Powys photo

“Ambition is the grand enemy of all peace.”

John Cowper Powys (1872–1963) British writer, lecturer and philosopher

Source: The Meaning of Culture (1929), p. 140

Serzh Sargsyan photo
William Vaughn Moody photo

“Passion is power,
And, kindly tempered, saves. All things declare
Struggle hath deeper peace than sleep can bring.”

William Vaughn Moody (1869–1910) United States dramatist and poet

The Masque of Judgment (1900), Act III, Sc. 2.

Prem Rawat photo

“In this world, the question has already been asked. The world has already started to face the problems, the problems which are vital for the human race. There is no need to discuss the problems, but I would like to present my opinion. In the midst of all this, I still sincerely think that this Knowledge, the Knowledge of God, the Knowledge of our Creator, is our solution. Many people might not think so, and carry a completely different opinion, but my opinion is that since man came on this planet earth, he has always been taking from it. Remember, this planet Earth is not infinite, it is finite, and though it has a lot to give, it is limited. Maybe now we can somehow manage to stagger along, cutting our standards of living, cutting gas, reducing the speed limit more, but the next very terrifying question is What about the future? I think this Knowledge which I have to offer this world, free of charge, is the answer. For if everybody can understand that everybody is a brother and sister, and this world is a gift, not a human-owned planet, and have the true understanding of such, we'll definitely bring peace, tranquillity, love and Grace, which we need so badly. I urge this world to try. I do not claim to be God, but do claim I can establish peace on this Earth by our Lord's Grace, and everyone's joint effort.”

Prem Rawat (1957) controversial spiritual leader

Proclamation for 1975, signed Sant Ji Maharaj the name by which Prem Rawat was known at that time. Divine Times (Vol.4 Issue.1, February 1, 1975)
1970s

Chen Fu-hai photo

“Kinmen will become a rapidly developing free economic pilot zone and base for peaceful cross-strait development.”

Chen Fu-hai (1963) Magistrate of Kinmen County

Chen Fu-hai (2014) cited in " Inauguration Speech of the Sixth Kinmen County Magistrate https://www.kinmen.gov.tw/en/cp.aspx?n=16892BCBAF2F7505" on Kinmen County Government, 24 November 2015.

Carol Leifer photo
Abdulla Yameen photo

“It's now time to bring peace, the people have decided. It's now time for development”

Abdulla Yameen (1959) Maldivian politician, 6th president of the Maldives

Quoted on BBC News, "Maldives election: Abdulla Yameen wins run-off vote" http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24974019, November 16, 2013.

Harry Truman photo
Thomas Carlyle photo

“To ravage, to slaughter, to usurp under false titles, they call empire; and where they make a desert, they call it peace.”
Auferre, trucidare, rapere, falsis nominibus imperium; atque, ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant.

Attributed by Tacitus in Agricola (c. 98)
Oxford Revised Translation (at Project Gutenberg) http://la.wikisource.org/wiki/De_vita_et_moribus_Iulii_Agricolae_%28Agricola%29#XXX
Translation: They plunder, they slaughter, and they steal: this they falsely name Empire, and where they make a wasteland, they call it peace. — translation Loeb Classical Library edition
Translation: To plunder, butcher, steal, these things they misname empire: they make a desolation and they call it peace. — translation by William Peterson

Maxwell D. Taylor photo
Rand Paul photo
Brian W. Aldiss photo

“Carnage added to carnage does not equal peace.”

Brian W. Aldiss (1925–2017) British science fiction author

“Basis for Negotiations” p. 152
Short fiction, Who Can Replace a Man? (1965)

Alexandra Kollontai photo

“I could not lead a happy, peaceful life when the working population was so terribly enslaved.”

Alexandra Kollontai (1872–1952) Soviet diplomat

The Autobiography of a Sexually Emancipated Communist Woman (1926)