War don't ennoble men, it turns 'em into dogs. It poisons the soul.
Interpretation
War degrades human beings and corrupts their morals.
James Jones's quote suggests that rather than elevating humanity, war diminishes it, transforming men into more animalistic beings. The harsh realities of conflict are said to taint the soul, leading to a loss of morality and decency in individuals swept up in violence and strife.
In practice
During a speech at a veterans' gathering, one could reference this quote to illustrate the psychological toll of war.
Humility collects the soul into a single point by the power of silence. A truly humble man has no desire to be known or admired by others, but wishes to plunge from himself into himself, to become nothing, as if he had never been born. When he is completely hidden to himself in himself, he is completely with God
We ought to fly away from earth to heaven as quickly as we can; and to fly away is to become like God, as far as this is possible; and to become like him is to become holy, just, and wise.
You are born with a character; it is given, a gift, as the old stories say, from the guardians upon your birth...Each person enters the world called.
At first it seems obvious, but the more you think about it the stranger the deductions from this axiom seem to become; in the end you cease to understand what is meant by it.
Despotic power is always accompanied by corruption of morality.
I believe in the sun. In the tangle of human failures of fear, greed and forgetfulness, the sun gives me clarity.
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