“A war is never undertaken by the ideal state, except in defense of its honor or its safety.”
De Re Publica, Book 3, Chapter 23
Original
Nullum bellum suscipi a civitate optima nisi aut pro fide aut pro salute.
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Marcus Tullius Cicero 180
Roman philosopher and statesman -106–-43 BCRelated quotes

Inaugural address (4 March 1921).
1920s

Mainichi Shimbun (17 September 1972)

President Saddam Hussein's Speech on National Day (1981)

Clive Foss, The Tyrants: 2500 Years of Absolute Power and Corruption, London: Quercus Publishing, 2006, ISBN 1905204965

Napoleon : In His Own Words (1916)

2010, Weekly Address (May 29, 2010)

“The state of crisis is the real war; the equilibrium is nothing but its reflex.”
On War (1832), Book 3

My Day (1935–1962)
Context: In times past, the question usually asked by women was "How can we best help to defend our nation?" I cannot remember a time when the question on so many people's lips was "How can we prevent war?"
There is a widespread understanding among the people of this nation, and probably among the people of the world, that there is no safety except through the prevention of war. For many years war has been looked upon as almost inevitable in the solution of any question that has arisen between nations, and the nation that was strong enough to do so went about building up its defenses and its power to attack. It felt that it could count on these two things for safety. (20 December 1961)

Source: Less Than Nothing (2012), Chapter Two, The Thing Itself: Hegel, pp. 200