Perhaps wars weren't won anymore. Maybe they went on forever. Maybe it was another Hundred Years' War.
Interpretation
The quote suggests a pessimistic view of conflict, implying that wars may be endless rather than resolvable.
Hemingway reflects on the nature of war, positing that conflicts may perpetuate indefinitely rather than reach a conclusion, akin to historical prolonged wars like the Hundred Years' War. This perspective invites contemplation on the cyclical and often unresolved nature of human strife and the futility of seeking a definitive victory.
In practice
In a speech about the consequences of ongoing conflicts, one might reference Hemingway to highlight the perpetual nature of war.
He no longer dreamed of storms, nor of women, nor of great occurrences, nor of great fish, nor fights, nor contests of strength, nor of his wife. He only dreamed of places now and the lions on the beach. They played like young cats in the dusk and he loved them as he loved the boy. He never dreamed about the boy. He simply woke, looked out the open door at the moon and unrolled his trousers and put them on.
How did you go bankrupt?" Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.
When you have shot one bird flying you have shot all birds flying. They are all different and they fly in different ways but the sensation is the same and the last one is as good as the first.
There is never any ending to Paris and the memory of each person who has lived in it differs from that of any other. We always returned to it no matter who we were or how it was changed or with what difficulties, or ease, it could be reached. Paris was always worth it and you received return for whatever you brought to it. But this is how Paris was in the early days when we were very poor and very happy.
Wine is the most civilized thing in the world.
There is no rule on how to write. Sometimes it comes easily and perfectly; sometimes it's like drilling rock and then blasting it out with charges.
When I was young, I believed that life might unfold in an orderly way, according to my hopes and expectations. But now I understand that the Way winds like a river, always changing, ever onward.. My journeys revealed that the Way itself creates the warrior; that every path leads to peace, every choice to wisdom. And that life has always been, and will always be, arising in Mystery.
The last official act of any government is to loot the treasury.
How horrible it is to have so many people killed! And what a blessing that one cares for none of them!
White racial grievance enjoys automatic credibility, and even when disproven, it is never disqualifying of its bearers.
As he was valiant, I honour him. But as he was ambitious, I slew him.
It is interesting ... how weapons reflect the soul of the maker.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.