War is not being nice to each other, it's the vilest thing in human life, and we ought to understand that and not play at war. It's a terrible necessity, and we should be strict about it and take it seriously. It comes down to this: no more lying, war means war and it's not a plaything....
And what is war, what is necessary for success on the battlefield, what is the moral basis of a military society? The aim of war is murder, the weapons of war are spying, treachery and the fostering of further treachery, the destruction of people, looting their property and stealing from them to keep the army on the road, falsehood and deceit, which go by the name of clever tactical ploys, and the moral basis of the military class is the curtailment of freedom through discipline, linked with idleness, ignorance, cruelty, debauchery and drunkenness. And in spite of that, its' still the highest class, universally respected.1
1 Tolstoy, Leo. War & Peace. Anthony Briggs Trans. London: Penguin Books, 2005. p861 First published 1865.
Showing posts with label iraq. Show all posts
Showing posts with label iraq. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Nothing is the cause of it.
When a ripe apple falls, What makes it fall ? Is it gravity , pulling it down to earth ? A Withered stalk ? Drying The action of the sun? Increased weight ? A breath of wind ? Or the boy under the tree who wants to eat it?
Nothing is the cause of it. It is just the coming together of various Necessary Conditions for any living , organic, elemental event to take place. And the botanist who finds That the apple has fallen Because of the onset of decay in its cellular structure, and all the rest of it , will be no more right or wrong Than The boyunder the tree who says the apple fell Because he wanted to eat it and prayed for it to fall.
Leo Tolstoy . War & Peace. Chapter III, Part I, Chapter I.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)