“ War is not an art, and luck alone decides the fate of battles. ”
Anatole France, The Gods Are Athirst (1912). copy citation
| Author | Anatole France |
|---|---|
| Source | The Gods Are Athirst |
| Topic | fate luck |
| Date | 1912 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by Mrs. Wilfrid Jackson |
| Weblink | https://www.gutenberg.org/files/24010/24010-h/24010-h.htm |
Context
“Brotteaux was the only lukewarm admirer of the victors and the bards who sang their victories.
"Since Homer began it," he observed one day, "it has always been a mania with poets, this extolling the powers of fighting-men. War is not an art, and luck alone decides the fate of battles. With two generals, both blockheads, face to face, one of them must inevitably be victorious. Wait till some day one of these warriors you make gods of swallows you all up like the stork in the fable who gobbles up the frogs.”
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