“From time immemorial, people have talked about peace without achieving it. Do we simply lack enough experience? Though we talk peace, we wage war. Sometimes we even wage war in the name of peace.. . . War may be too much a part of history to be eliminated—ever.”

—  Elie Wiesel

As quoted in "Is World Peace on the Horizon?", in The Watchtower (15 April 1991)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "From time immemorial, people have talked about peace without achieving it. Do we simply lack enough experience? Though …" by Elie Wiesel?
Elie Wiesel photo
Elie Wiesel 155
writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate, and … 1928–2016

Related quotes

Martin Luther King, Jr. photo

“We will not build a peaceful world by following a negative path. It is not enough to say "We must not wage war." It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it. We must concentrate not merely on the negative expulsion of war, but on the positive affirmation of peace.”

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

1960s, The Quest for Peace and Justice (1964)
Context: We will not build a peaceful world by following a negative path. It is not enough to say "We must not wage war." It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it. We must concentrate not merely on the negative expulsion of war, but on the positive affirmation of peace. There is a fascinating little story that is preserved for us in Greek literature about Ulysses and the Sirens. The Sirens had the ability to sing so sweetly that sailors could not resist steering toward their island. Many ships were lured upon the rocks, and men forgot home, duty, and honor as they flung themselves into the sea to be embraced by arms that drew them down to death. Ulysses, determined not to be lured by the Sirens, first decided to tie himself tightly to the mast of his boat, and his crew stuffed their ears with wax. But finally he and his crew learned a better way to save themselves: they took on board the beautiful singer Orpheus whose melodies were sweeter than the music of the Sirens. When Orpheus sang, who bothered to listen to the Sirens? So we must fix our vision not merely on the negative expulsion of war, but upon the positive affirmation of peace. We must see that peace represents a sweeter music, a cosmic melody that is far superior to the discords of war.

Martin Luther King, Jr. photo

“We will not build a peaceful world by following a negative path. It is not enough to say "We must not wage war."”

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

It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it. We must concentrate not merely on the negative expulsion of war, but on the positive affirmation of peace. There is a fascinating little story that is preserved for us in Greek literature about Ulysses and the Sirens. The Sirens had the ability to sing so sweetly that sailors could not resist steering toward their island. Many ships were lured upon the rocks, and men forgot home, duty, and honor as they flung themselves into the sea to be embraced by arms that drew them down to death. Ulysses, determined not to be lured by the Sirens, first decided to tie himself tightly to the mast of his boat, and his crew stuffed their ears with wax. But finally he and his crew learned a better way to save themselves: they took on board the beautiful singer Orpheus whose melodies were sweeter than the music of the Sirens. When Orpheus sang, who bothered to listen to the Sirens? So we must fix our vision not merely on the negative expulsion of war, but upon the positive affirmation of peace. We must see that peace represents a sweeter music, a cosmic melody that is far superior to the discords of war.
1960s, The Quest for Peace and Justice (1964)

Gerhard Schröder photo

“We don't wage war, but we are called upon to impose a peaceful solution”

Gerhard Schröder (1944) German politician (SPD)

24 March 1999 on German television, quoted in the documentary film ‘Es begann mit einer Lüge’, the complete manuscript of the film http://www.ag-friedensforschung.de/themen/NATO-Krieg/ard-sendung.html
Context: We don't wage war, but we are called upon to impose a peaceful solution in Kosovo by military means as well.

Ron Paul photo

“We can achieve much more in peace than we can ever achieve in these needless, unconstitutional, undeclared wars.”

Ron Paul (1935) American politician and physician

Republican debate in Des Moines, Iowa, August 5, 2007 http://www.cfr.org/publication/13981/republican_debate_transcript_iowa.html
2000s, 2006-2009

George W. Bush photo

“I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we're really talking about peace.”

George W. Bush (1946) 43rd President of the United States

Department of Housing and Urban Development, Washington, D.C. http://www.hud.gov/news/speeches/presremarks.cfm (June 18, 2002)
2000s, 2002

Aristotle photo

“We make war that we may live in peace.”

Aristotle (-384–-321 BC) Classical Greek philosopher, student of Plato and founder of Western philosophy
A. J. Muste photo
Franklin D. Roosevelt photo
Wendell Berry 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

Related topics