No principle is worth the sacrifice of a single human being.
Daniel BerriganRead
Of course, let us have peace, we cry, "but at the same time let us have normalcy, let us lose nothing, let our lives stand intact, let us know neither prison nor ill repute nor disruption of ties ... " There is no peace because there are no peacemakers. There are no makers of peace because the making of peace is at least as costly as the making of war - at least as exigent, at least as disruptive, at least as liable to bring disgrace and prison, and death in its wake.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True peace requires sacrifice and effort, which many are unwilling to make.
This quote by Daniel Berrigan highlights the paradox of seeking peace while avoiding the costs associated with it. It emphasizes that the creation of peace is not an easy or risk-free endeavor; rather, it demands commitment and courage, often accompanied by personal sacrifice and facing hardships similar to those experienced in war. The quote suggests that without individuals dedicated to truly making peace, society will continue to suffer turmoil and conflict.
Themes
PeaceSacrificeCommitmentConflictEffort
In practice
Example use cases
During a peace rally, this quote may remind participants of the challenges ahead.
More from Daniel Berrigan
All quotes →Instead of building the peace by attacking injustices like starvation, disease, illiteracy, political and economic servitude, we spend a trillion dollars on war since 1946, until hatred and conflict have become the international preoccupation.
Daniel BerriganRead
The death of a single human being is too heavy a price for the vindication of any principle, however sacred.
Daniel BerriganRead
The God of life summons us to life; more, to be lifegivers, especially toward those who lie under the heel of the powers.
Daniel BerriganRead
For my part, I believe that the vain, glorious and the violent will not inherit the earth. . . . In pursuance of that faith my friends and I take the hands of the dying in our hands. And some of us travel to the Pentagon, and others live in the Bowery and serve there, and others speak unpopularly and plainly of the fate of the unborn and of convicted criminals. It is all one.
Daniel BerriganRead
Sometime in your life, hope that you might see one starved man, the look on his face when the bread finally arrives. Hope that you might have baked it or bought or even kneaded it yourself. For that look on his face, for your meeting his eyes across a piece of bread, you might be willing to lose a lot, or suffer a lot, or die a little, even.
Daniel BerriganRead
Similar quotes
When I pray for peace, I pray not only that the enemies of my own country may cease to want war, but above all that my country will cease to do the things that make war inevitable.
Thomas MertonRead
Let us pray for peace: peace in the world and in each of our hearts.
Pope FrancisRead
The world will never have lasting peace so long as men reserve for war the finest human qualities. Peace, no less than war, requires idealism and self-sacrifice and a righteous and dynamic faith.
John Foster DullesRead
My calling was first of all to ensure there was peace in the country, because we could easily have gone back to war. In the midst of the country, there were still warlords; there were many child soldiers who had never gone to school - they were part of the social setting - compromises had to be made.
Ellen Johnson SirleafRead
The greatest threat to our world and its peace comes from those who want war, who prepare for it, and who, by holding out vague promises of future peace or by instilling fear of foreign aggression, try to make us accomplices to their plans.
Hermann HesseRead
Peace is a journey of a thousand miles and it must be taken one step at a time.
Lyndon B. JohnsonRead