Peace Quotes

Agatha Christie:

One is left with the horrible feeling now that war settles nothing; that to win a war is as disastrous as to lose one.

Alex Noble:

If I have been of service, if I have glimpsed more of the nature and essence of ultimate good, if I am inspired to reach wider horizons of thought and action, if I am at peace with myself, it has been a successful day.

Andre Trocme:

All who affirm the use of violence admit it is only a means to achieve justice and peace. But peace and justice are nonviolence...the final end of history. Those who abandon nonviolence have no sense of history. Rather they are bypassing history, freezing history, betraying history.

Anton Chekov:

We shall find peace. We shall hear angels. We shall see the sky sparkling with diamonds.

Aristotle:

We make war that we may live in peace.

Benjamin Franklin:

There never was a good war or a bad peace.

Carl Sandburg:

Choose
The single clenched fist lifted and ready,
Or the open hand held out and waiting.
Choose:
For we meet by one or the other.

Carl Schurz:

The peace and welfare of this and coming generations of Americans will be secure only as we cling to the watchword of true patriotism: "Our country -- when right to be kept right; when wrong to be put right."

Colman McCarthy:

Everyone's a pacifist between wars. It's like being a vegetarian between meals.

Croesus:

In peace the sons bury their fathers, but in war the fathers bury their sons.

Dag Hammarskjold:

Never, "for the sake of peace and quiet," deny your own experience or convictions.



David W. Brooks:

If we are going to stop wars on this earth, we are going to have to make war on hunger our number one priority.

Dorothy Thompson:

They have not wanted Peace at all; they have wanted to be spared war -- as though the absence of war was the same as peace.

Dorothy Thompson:

Peace has to be created, in order to be maintained. It is the product of Faith, Strength, Energy, Will, Sympathy, Justice, Imagination, and the triumph of principle. It will never be achieved by passivity and quietism.

Dorothy Thompson:

Peace is not the absence of conflict but the presence of creative alternatives for responding to conflict -- alternatives to passive or aggressive responses, alternatives to violence.

Dwight D. Eisenhower:

We seek peace, knowing that peace is the climate of freedom.

Ecclesiastes:

For everything there is a season,
And a time for every matter under heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to seek, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to throw away;
A time to tear, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate,
A time for war, and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

George Bernard Shaw:

Peace is not only better than war, but infinitely more arduous.

George W. Bush:

No, I know all the war rhetoric, but it's all aimed at achieving peace.

George Washington:

There is nothing so likely to produce peace as to be well prepared to meet the enemy.

H. H. the Dalai Lama:

I believe that to meet the challenges of our times, human beings will have to develop a greater sense of universal responsibility. Each of us must learn to work not just for oneself, one's own family or nation, but for the benefit of all humankind. Universal responsibility is the key to human survival. It is the best foundation for world peace.

HH the Dalai Lama:

Peace, in the sense of the absence of war, is of little value to someone who is dying of hunger or cold. It will not remove the pain of torture inflicted on a prisoner of conscience. It does not comfort those who have lost their loved ones in floods caused by senseless deforestation in a neighboring country. Peace can only last where human rights are respected, where the people are fed, and where individuals and nations are free.

Peace, in the sense of the absence of war, is of little value to someone who is dying of hunger or cold. It will not remove the pain of torture inflicted on a prisoner of conscience. It does not comfort those who have lost their loved ones in floods caused by senseless deforestation in a neighboring country. Peace can only last where human rights are respected, where the people are fed, and where individuals and nations are free.

True peace with oneself and with the world around us can only be achieved through the development of mental peace. The other phenomena mentioned above are similarly interrelated. Thus, for example, we see that a clean environment, wealth or democracy mean little in the face of war, especially nuclear war, and that material development is not sufficient to ensure human happiness.

Material progress is of course important for human advancement. In Tibet, we paid much to little attention to technological and economic development, and today we realize that this was a mistake. At the same time, material development without spiritual development can also cause serious problems. In some countries too much attention is paid to external things and very little importance is given to inner development. I believe both are important and must be developed side by side so as to achieve a good balance between them. Tibetans are always described by foreign visitors as being a happy, jovial people. This is part of our national character, formed by cultural and religious values that stress the importance of mental peace through the generation of love and kindness to all other living sentient beings, both human and animal. Inner peace is the key: if you have inner peace, the external problems do not affect your deep sense of peace and tranquillity. In that state of mind you can deal with situations with calmness and reason, while keeping your inner happiness. This is very important. Without this inner peace, no matter how comfortable your life is materially, you may still be worried, disturbed or unhappy because of circumstances.

The Nobel Lecture, December 11, 1989

 




HH the Dalai Lama:

Responsibility does not only lie with the leaders of our countries or with those who have been appointed or elected to do a particular job. It lies with each of us individually. Peace, for example, starts within each one of us. When we have inner peace, we can be at peace with those around us

.


HH the Dalai Lama:

When we feel love and kindness toward others, it not only makes others feel loved and cared for, but it helps us also to develop inner happiness and peace.

Helen Keller:

I do not want the peace that passeth understanding. I want the understanding which bringeth peace.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow:

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play
And mild and sweet the words repeat,
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

I thought how as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had roll'd along th' unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bow'd my head:
"There is no peace on earth," I said,
"For hate is strong, and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men."

Hermann Goering:

Naturally the common people don't want war; neither in Russia, nor in England, nor in America, nor in Germany. That is understood. But after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country. quote verified at snopes.com

Howard Nemerov:

Religion and science both profess peace (and the sincerity of the professors is not being doubted), but each always turns out to have a dominant part in any war that is going or contemplated.

Indira Gandhi:

You can't shake hands with a clenched fist.

James Russell Lowell:

We kind o' thought Christ went agin war an' pillage.

Jimi Hendrix:

When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace.

John F. Kennedy:

It is an unfortunate fact that we can secure peace only by preparing for war.

John F. Kennedy:

Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.

John F. Kennedy:

Unconditional war can no longer lead to unconditional victory. It can no longer serve to settle disputes. It can no longer be of concern to great powers alone. For a nuclear disaster, spread by winds and waters and fear, could well engulf the great and the small, the rich and the poor, the committed and the uncommitted alike. Mankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to mankind.

John Harricharan:

Peace is not achieved by controlling nations, but mastering our thoughts.

John Lennon:

Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us, and the world will live as one.

Lady Mary Wortley Montagu:

While conscience is our friend, all is at peace; however once it is offended, farewell to a tranquil mind.

M. Scott Peck:

There can be no vulnerability without risk; there can be no community without vulnerability; there can be no peace, and ultimately no life, without community.

Maha Ghosananda:

When you make peace with yourself, you make peace with the world.

Maria Montessori:

Establishing lasting peace is the work of education; all politics can do is keep us out of war.

Marian Wright Edelman:

[W]e are not going to deal with the violence in our communities, our homes, and our nation, until we learn to deal with the basic ethic of how we resolve our disputes and to place an emphasis on peace in the way we relate to one another.

Mark Twain:

Peace by persuasion has a pleasant sound, but I think we should not be able to work it. We should have to tame the human race first, and history seems to show that that cannot be done.

Martin Luther King, Jr.:

One day we must come to see that peace is not merely a distant goal we seek, but that it is a means by which we arrive at that goal. We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means.

Martin Luther King, Jr.:

True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice.

Mohandas K. Gandhi:

I first learned the concepts of non-violence in my marriage.

Mohandas K. Gandhi:

Non-cooperation is a measure of discipline and sacrifice, and it demands respect for the opposite views.

Moshe Dayan:

If you want to make peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies.

Omar N. Bradley:

Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war than we know about peace, more about killing than we know about living. We have grasped the mystery of the atom and rejected the Sermon on the Mount.

Oscar Romero:

Peace is not the product of terror or fear.
Peace is not the silence of cemeteries.
Peace is not the silent result of violent repression.
Peace is the generous, tranquil contribution of all to the good of all.
Peace is dynamism. Peace is generosity.
It is right and it is duty.

Peyton Conway March:

There is a wonderful mythical law of nature that the three things we crave most in life -- happiness, freedom, and peace of mind -- are always attained by giving them to someone else.

R. Buckminster Fuller:
Either war is obsolete or men are.

Ralph Waldo Emerson:

A political victory, a rise in rents, the recovery of your sick, or return of your absent friend, or some other quite external event, raises your spirits, and you think good days are preparing for you. Do not believe it. Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles.

from "Self-Reliance"

Ralph Waldo Emerson:

The real and lasting victories are those of peace, and not of war.

Ramona L. Anderson:

People spend a lifetime searching for happiness; looking for peace. They chase idle dreams, addictions, religions, even other people, hoping to fill the emptiness that plagues them. The irony is the only place they ever needed to search was within.

Simone Weil:

A self-respecting nation is ready for anything, including war, except for a renunciation of its option to make war.


Spinoza:

Peace is not the absence of war; it is a virtue; a state of mind; a disposition for benevolence; confidence; and justice.

Thich Nhat Hanh:

The practice of peace and reconciliation is one of the most vital and artistic of human actions.

Thich Nhat Hanh:

Everyday we do things, we are things that have to do with peace. If we are aware of our life..., our way of looking at things, we will know how to make peace right in the moment, we are alive.

Thomas Jefferson:

The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good government.

Thomas Paine:

If there must be trouble let it be in my day, that my child may have peace.

Thomas a Kempis:

First keep the peace within yourself, then you can also bring peace to others.

Unknown:

Symptoms of Inner Peace
A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than on fears based on past experience
An unmistakable ability to enjoy the moment
A loss of interest in judging other people
A loss of interest in judging self
A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others
An inability to worry (this is a very serious symptom!)
Frequent overwhelming episodes of appreciation
Frequent acts of smiling
An increasing tendency to let things happen rather than to make them happen
An increased susceptibility to the love extended by others as well as the uncontrollable urge to extend it.




Unknown:

The great teachings unanimously emphasize that all the peace, wisdom, and joy in the universe are already within us; we don't have to gain, develop, or attain them. We're like a child standing in a beautiful park with his eyes shut tight. We don't need to imagine trees, flowers, deer, birds, and sky; we merely need to open our eyes and realize what is already here, who we really are -- as soon as we quit pretending we're small or unholy.

William E. Gladstone :

We look forward to the time when the Power of Love will replace the Love of Power. Then will our world know the blessings of peace.

William Ury:

We tend to think the problem is human beings have this natural tendency to kill, and yet in the middle of a hot war, WWII, a "good war," as it were, the US army was astonished to learn that at least three out of every four riflemen who were trained to kill and commanded to kill, could not bring themselves to pull the trigger when they could see the person they were ordered to kill. And that inner resistance to violence is a well kept secret.