As long as there is violence, there will also be war. Violence cannot be defeated by violence. The only way to defeat violence is by not resisting it and not participating in it. But what will the best of humankind then think of that refined civilization that we are so proud of? Pretty much the same thing that we think about the ancient people of Mexico and their cannibalism, at once warlike, pious and animalistic.
— Letourneau
If my soldiers were to start thinking, not one would remain in the army.
— Frederick II
The savage instinct of martial murder has been so carefully cultivated and encouraged over millennia that it has put forth its roots deep into the human psyche. We must, however, hope that a society better than ours will be able to rid itself of this terrible crime.
And I realized that discipline meant that a corporal is always right when he is speaking with a soldier, a sergeant when he is speaking with a corporal, a non-commissioned officer when he is speaking with a sergeant etc., up to a field marshal, even if they say that two times two is five. At first this is difficult to understand, but what helps this understanding is that in every barracks hangs a plaque which makes everything crystal clear. On this plaque is written everything a soldier might wish to do, for example, to return to his village, to refuse to execute an order, to disobey his officer, and so on, and for all these things punishments are indicated: the death penalty or five years of hard labor.
— Erckmann-Chatrian
I bought a negro, he is mine. He works like a horse, I feed him badly, I clothe him badly and I beat him when he disobeys me. What is so surprising about this? Do we really treat our soldiers better? Are they not deprived of freedom just as this negro is? The only difference is that the soldier costs a lot less. A good negro nowadays costs at least 500 crowns, whereas a good soldier costs 50 at most. Neither this nor the other may leave the place where he is being held, and both this and the other is beaten for the smallest mistake, the upkeep is almost the same, but the negro has the advantage over the soldier in that he does not risk his life, but spends it with his wife and children.
— Anatole France
War will end only when people stop all participation in violence and become ready to bear the persecution which they may suffer for doing so. This is the only way to end war.
