The most successful war seldom pays for its losses.
Interpretation
Success in conflict often comes at a high cost that may outweigh the benefits.
This quote by Thomas Jefferson suggests that while a war may be won, the losses incurred during the conflict can overshadow any gains achieved. It highlights the idea that the consequences of war—such as loss of life, destruction, and long-term repercussions—often outweigh any temporary victories or successes. The wisdom here is a caution against pursuing conflict recklessly, as the cost of success in war can be devastating and sometimes unjustifiable.
In practice
In a discussion about the implications of military action, you can quote Jefferson to emphasize the high costs of war.
The firmness with which the (American) people have withstood the... abuses of the press, the discernment they have manifested between truth and falsehood, show that they may safely be trusted to hear everything true and false and to form a correct judgment between them.
I, place economy among the first & most important republican virtues, & public debt as the greatest of the dangers to be feared
We must make our choice between economy and liberty or confusion and servitude...If we run into such debts, we must be taxed in our meat and drink, in our necessities and comforts, in our labor and in our amusements...if we can prevent the government from wasting the labor of the people, under the pretense of caring for them, they will be happy.
Very many and very meritorious were the worthy patriots who assisted in bringing back our government to its republican tack. To preserve it in that, will require unremitting vigilance.
A nation, as a society, forms a moral person, and every member of it is personally responsible for his society.
Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty.
None of us can know what we are capable of until we are tested.
Age certainly hadn't conferred any smarts on me. Character maybe, but mediocrity is a constant, as one Russian writer put it. Russian writers have a way with aphorisms. They probably spend all winter thinking them up.
And I will show that there is no imperfection in the present, and can be none in the future, And I will show that whatever happens to anybody it may be turned to beautiful results.
When we develop reverence for food and the miracle of transformation inherent in it, just the simple act of eating creates a ritual of celebration.
There are a lot of people who helped make Queen Latifah who she is today. I don't forget, but a lot of people do and get big heads. My mom will make me walk the dogs or take out the trash when I go home. I'm not allowed to get a big head; I've still got to do the simple things in life.
You never really learn much from hearing yourself talk.
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