I have a deep sympathy with war; it so ape the gait and bearing of the soul. It is a pity that we need war now and then to assure ourselves that there is still some virility left in man.
Men make war out of a deeper instinct than the instinct for peace. War is but the impulse for Peace.
When martial law is declared in the world; every Esau resumes his birthright and what is in him does not fail to manifest itself. He sets aside all old debts and starts a new account. The world is interested in knowing how the soul will conduct itself in so new a situation. But when war like commerce and agriculture, becomes a routine, men go to it as professionals, the hero degenerates into a machine, and the army remains a permanent diversion. When courage is defeated, it becomes part of the peace league. What is human war but an effort to make the laws of God and Nature decide for one side?
—H. D. Thoreau
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