A great empire and little minds go ill together.
Edmund BurkeRead
Wars are just to those to whom they are necessary.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that wars are seen as justified by those who believe they are essential for achieving a goal.
Edmund Burke's quote reflects on the complex nature of wars and how perceptions vary based on individual perspectives. Those who deem war necessary often view it as a means to an end, rationalizing its application in political or social conflict, while others may see it as a tragedy or failure of diplomacy. This highlights the subjective nature of morality and justification in human conflict, where necessity can distort the reality of violence and destruction.
Themes
WarNecessityJustificationConflictPerspective
In practice
Example use cases
During a debate on the ethics of military intervention, one might say, 'As Edmund Burke said, wars are just to those to whom they are necessary.'
More from Edmund Burke
All quotes βTo read without reflecting is like eating without digesting.
Edmund BurkeRead
Flattery corrupts both the receiver and the giver.
Edmund BurkeRead
The hottest fires in hell are reserved for those who remain neutral in times of moral crisis.
Edmund BurkeRead
Society can overlook murder, adultery or swindling; it never forgives preaching of a new gospel.
Edmund BurkeRead
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
Edmund BurkeRead
Similar quotes
America has become one of the foremost countries in regard to the depth of the abyss which lies between the handful of arrogant multimillionaires who wallow in filth and luxury, and the millions of working people who constantly live on the verge of pauperism.
Vladimir LeninRead
The strongest guard is placed at the gateway to nothing. Maybe because the condition of emptiness is too shameful to be divulged.
F. Scott FitzgeraldRead
When advertisers ignore diversity, it is because they don't think the lives of others matter. There is not enough of a financial imperative for those lives to matter.
Roxane GayRead
Our job as writers and thinkers in the time is how to bring about the occasions that let people have that first-person experience - or the metaphoric experience that allows them to see human continuity as opposed to total threat, total willingness to do violence.
Stanley CrouchRead
It seems to me that to take a book of mine into his hands is one of the rarest distinctions that anyone can confer upon himself. I even assume that he removes his shoes when he does so-not to speak of boots.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
If truth is the main casualty in war, ambiguity is another.
Paul FussellRead