“ As it is now, war is the favorite pastime of the idle and frivolous. The military calling is the most highly honored. ”
Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace (1869). copy citation
Author | Leo Tolstoy |
---|---|
Source | War and Peace |
Topic | war pastime |
Date | 1869 |
Language | English |
Reference | |
Note | Translated by Louise and Aylmer Maude |
Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2600/2600-h/2600-h.htm |
Context
“War is not courtesy but the most horrible thing in life; and we ought to understand that and not play at war. We ought to accept this terrible necessity sternly and seriously. It all lies in that: get rid of falsehood and let war be war and not a game. As it is now, war is the favorite pastime of the idle and frivolous. The military calling is the most highly honored. “ But what is war? What is needed for success in warfare? What are the habits of the military? The aim of war is murder; the methods of war are spying, treachery, and their encouragement, the ruin of a country’s inhabitants, robbing them or stealing to provision the army, and fraud and falsehood termed military craft.”
source