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Peace

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“In the world of today can there be peace anywhere until there is peace everywhere?”
Isaac Asimov (1920–1992) first seen 1967 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Egyptians (1967), p. 241
“Our chiefs said 'Done,' and I did not deem it; Our seers said 'Peace,' and it was not peace; Earth will grow worse till men redeem it, And wars more evil, ere all wars cease.”
G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936) first seen 1910 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: A Song of Defeat — first appeared, in part, in George William Russell's Sketches and Snapshots (1910)
“Peace, peace! he is not dead, he doth not sleep— He hath awakened from the dream of life— 'Tis we, who lost in stormy visions, keep With phantoms an unprofitable strife, And in mad trance, strike with our spirit's knife Invulnerable nothings.”
Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822) said by 1822 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Alexander Hamilton said, "A nation which can prefer disgrace to danger is prepared for a master, and deserves one." Let's set the record straight. There is no argument over the choice between peace and war, but there is only one guaranteed way you can have peace — and you can have it in the next second — surrender.”
Ronald Reagan (1911–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There is one sign the Soviets can make that would be unmistakable, that would advance dramatically the cause of freedom and peace. General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”
Ronald Reagan (1911–2004) first seen 1987 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech at the Brandenburg Gate (12 June 1987)
“Peace is only better than war if peace is not hell too. War being hell makes sense.”
Walker Percy (1916–1990) said by 1990 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The steps I have indicated tonight are aimed at avoiding that war. To sum it all up: we seek peace — but we shall not surrender. That is the central meaning of this crisis, and the meaning of your government's policy. With your help, and the help of other free men, this crisis can be surmounted. Freedom can prevail and peace can endure.”
John F. Kennedy (1917–1963) said by 1963 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The great question which confronted this body in 1945 is still before us: whether man's cherished hopes for progress and peace are to be destroyed by terror and disruption, whether the "foul winds of war" can be tamed in time to free the cooling winds of reason, and whether the pledges of our Charter are to be fulfilled or defied — pledges to secure peace, progress, human rights and world law.”
John F. Kennedy (1917–1963) said by 1963 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I am convinced that the enactment this year of tax reduction and tax reform overshadows all other domestic problems in this Congress. For we cannot for long lead the cause of peace and freedom, if we ever cease to set the pace here at home. For we cannot for long lead the cause of peace and freedom, if we ever cease to set the pace here at home.”
John F. Kennedy (1917–1963) said by 1963 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I do not want the peace that passeth understanding. I want the understanding which bringeth peace.”
Helen Keller (1880–1968) first seen 1962 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted in Henry More: The Rational Theology of a Cambridge Plattonist (1962) by Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein, page 100
“You can't separate peace from freedom, because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom.”
Malcolm X (1925–1965) first seen 1965 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech in New York City (7 January 1965)
“The nation state has never been associated with peace on earth. Its most powerful recommendation and record is, as a matter of fact, as a wager of war. The history of nation states is written around the dates of war, not peace, around arms and not arts. The organization of warfare without the coercive power of the nation state is simply unimaginable at the scale with which we have become familiar.”
Karl Hess (1923–1994) said by 1994 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The United States while they wish for war with no nation, will buy peace with none, it being a principle incorporated into the settled policy of America, that as peace is better than war, so war is better than tribute.”
James Madison (1751–1836) first seen 1815 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Message delivered to Dey Omar Agha, by Isaac Chauncey and William Shaler , summarizing the Treaty with Algiers (1815), and U.S attitudes and actions in the Barbary Wars, in refusing to pay ransom or tribute to pirates o…
“Abu Hurayra said, "The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, kissed al-Hasan ibn 'Ali while al-Aqra' ibn Habis was with him. Al-Aqra' said, 'I have ten children and have never kissed any of them.' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, looked at him and said, 'Anyone who does not show mercy will not be shown mercy.”
Muhammad (571–632) said by 632 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Anas reported that a Bedouin said to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, "When will the Hour come?" The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "How have you prepared for it?" He said, "With love of Allah and His Messenger." He said, "You will be with the one you love.”
Muhammad (571–632) said by 632 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Ibn 'Abbas said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, passed by some graves at Madina and turned his face towards them and said, "Peace be upon you, O people of the graves! May Allah forgive us and you. You preceded us and we are following afterwards.”
Muhammad (571–632) said by 632 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Ibn 'Umar reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, passed by one of the men of the Ansar who was admonishing his brother for being too modest. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Let him be. Modesty is part of belief.”
Muhammad (571–632) said by 632 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“While the world waited, Saddam Hussein met every overture of peace with open contempt. While the world prayed for peace, Saddam prepared for war.”
George H. W. Bush (1924–2018) said by 2018 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“One does not make peace with one's friends. One makes peace with one's enemy.”
Yitzhak Rabin (1922–1995) first seen 1993 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On the road to peace, December 1993
“I, serial number 30743, Lieutenant General in reserves Yitzhak Rabin, a soldier in the Israeli Defense Forces and in the army of peace, I, who have sent armies into fire and soldiers to their death, say today: We sail onto a war which has no casualties, no wounded, no blood nor suffering. It is the only war which is a pleasure to participate in — the war for peace.”
Yitzhak Rabin (1922–1995) first seen 1994 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech to the US Congress (26 July 1994)
“Only when an ideal of peace is born in the minds of the peoples will the institutions set up to maintain this peace effectively fulfill the function expected of them.”
Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965) said by 1965 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree, And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made: Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honeybee, And live alone in the bee-loud glade. And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;”
William Butler Yeats (1865–1939) said by 1939 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We are committed to the proposition that principles of morality and considerations for our own security will never permit us to acquiesce in a peace dictated by aggressors and sponsored by appeasers. We know that enduring peace cannot be bought at the cost of other people's freedom.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945) said by 1945 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Yesterday, December 7, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy — the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. The United States was at peace with that nation, and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its government and its Emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945) said by 1945 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Buddha, Jesus and Mohamed Nabi have been reformers. If world needs peace, unity and tranquility all religions must be decimated. Yet, with existence of a religion if the world can get peace, then in my opinion, it is Islam.”
Periyar E. V. Ramasamy (1879–1973) first seen 1931 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: (Kudiyarasu – 23-08-1931) (also )
“First, I wanna say 'peace' to my mother. She's not here but I gotta give a 'peace out' to her because I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for my mother.”
Tupac Shakur (1971–1996) said by 1996 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I have found more peace in the knowledge of truth than anger in the feeling of oppression, and the most precious fruit that I could want to collect in this memoir would be to inspire my readers with that peace of mind arising from the clear perception of evil and its causes.”
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (1809–1865) said by 1865 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“So long as [men] hold the tribal notion that the individual is sacrificial fodder for the collective, that some men have the right to rule others by force, and that some (any) alleged 'good' can justify It — there can be no peace ‘within’ a nation and no peace among nations.”
Ayn Rand (1905–1982) said by 1982 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“After so many years of unceasing war and endless danger, today the skies are calm, the guns are silent, the sirens are still, and the sun rises on a Holy Land that is finally at peace, a land and a region that will live, God willing, in peace for all eternity.”
Donald Trump (born 1946) first seen 2025 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Trump declares end of Israel-Hamas war, but experts see the hard work as just beginning ABC News (October 14, 2025)
“Peace. Peace on Earth.”
Donald Trump (born 1946) first seen 2026 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: When asked what his New Year's resolution was President Donald Trump shares his New Year's resolution Fox News (January 1, 2026)
“What they could do with round here is a good war. What else can you expect with peace running wild all over the place? You know what the trouble with peace is? No organization.”
Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956) said by 1956 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Their peace and their war Are like wind and storm.War grows from their peace.”
Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956) first seen 1913 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Those at the top say: peace and war" [Die Oberen sagen: Friede und Krieg] from "A German War Primer" [Deutsche Kriegsfibel] (1937), trans. Lee Baxendall in Poems, 1913-1956, p. 288
“Though peace be made, yet it's interest that keep peace.”
Oliver Cromwell (1599–1658) first seen 1654 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted in a statement to Parliament as as "a maxim not to be despised" (4 September 1654)
“What is peace? Balance three iron skewers tip to tip, one upon the other; at the summit, emplace and egg, so that it too poises static in mid-air, and there you have the condition of peace in this world of men.”
Jack Vance (1916–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, few people had the poor taste to ask what she had ever done, or even claimed to do, for the cause of peace. Her address to the ceremony of investiture did little to resolve any doubt on this score and much to increase it.”
Christopher Hitchens (1949–2011) said by 2011 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If we can't live in peace, then let's die in peace.”
Jim Jones (1931–1978) first seen 1978 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Death Tape" FBI No. Q042 (November 18, 1978)
“I don't know what to say since I don't know what is happening [in Albania]. I can say only one thing. My Albanian people are always in my heart. I pray very much to our Lord that His peace may come to our hearts, in our families and in all the world. I pray for Albania, that the Lord may help its leaders to see clearly because if they want to live in peace, they should love one another.”
Mother Teresa (1910–1997) first seen 1989 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Louis Zanga "Mother Teresa's visit to Albania", Radio Free Europe Research, (23 August 1989)
“I do not know whether war is an interlude in peace, or whether peace is an interlude in war.”
Georges Clemenceau (1841–1929) first seen 1919 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech to the Senate (11 October 1919), quoted in George Bernard Noble, Policies and Opinions at Paris, 1919 (New York: Macmillan, 1935), p. 353
“We know the redemption must come. The time and the manner of its coming we know not: It may come in peace, or it may come in blood; but whether in peace or in blood, LET IT COME.”
John Quincy Adams (1767–1848) first seen 1843 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Remarks to "the colored people of Pittsburge, Pennsylvania" in 1843, as quoted in History of the Rebellion : Its Authors and Causes (1864) by Joshua Reed Giddings; Alabama Representative Dellet quoted the speech in the …
“You can be a doctor and I’ll still help you. You can be an engineer and I can help you. You can be a scientist and I’ll help you, whoever you are because I am not helping anything else. I am helping you! Peace on this Earth doesn’t begin by great ideas. Peace on Earth begins with you.”
Prem Rawat (born 1957) first seen 1978 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Kissimmee, Florida, November 10, 1978
“Peace within is vital for leading a life fulfilled. Prem Rawat brings a message of hope and peace. Such a message is very much needed in this world today. Each of us as individuals can benefit from it. His message can help us lead more fulfilled lives, whatever our circumstances might be.”
Prem Rawat (born 1957) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Mahendra Swarup; CEO, Times Foundation and Times Internet. (2003)
“War is not its own end, except in some catastrophic slide into absolute damnation. It’s peace that’s wanted. Some better peace than the one you started with.”
Lois McMaster Bujold (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We thank all our distinguished international guests for having come to take possession with the people of our country of what is, after all, a common victory for justice, for peace, for human dignity. We trust that you will continue to stand by us as we tackle the challenges of building peace, prosperity, non-sexism, non-racialism and democracy.”
Nelson Mandela (1918–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The pursuit of peace and progress cannot end in a few years in either victory or defeat. The pursuit of peace and progress, with its trials and its errors, its successes and its setbacks, can never be relaxed and never abandoned.”
Dag Hammarskjöld (1905–1961) first seen 1954 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: United Nations Bulletin, Vol. XVI, No. 4 (15 February 1954)
“For the stability and peace of Asia, it is essential to create peace zones to separate the continent's biggest powers and potential adversaries.”
Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama (born 1935) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“And she arose, and in that darkening room Stood lonely as a spirit of the night — Stood calm and fearless in the gathered night — And raised her eyes to heaven. There were tears Upon her face, but in her heart was peace. Peace that the world nor gives nor takes away!”
Lewis Carroll (1832–1898) first seen 1856 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Path of Roses (1856), concluding lines
“Bloodshed kept pace with iron production: in essence, the entire paleotechnic period was ruled, from beginning to end, by the policy of blood and iron. The brutal contempt for life was equalled only by the almost priestly ritual it developed for inflicting death. Its "peace" was indeed the peace that passeth understanding: what was it but latent warfare.”
Lewis Mumford (1895–1990) said by 1990 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Once for all, then, a short precept is given thee: Love, and do what thou wilt: whether thou hold thy peace, through love hold thy peace; whether thou cry out, through love cry out; whether thou correct, through love correct; whether thou spare, through love do thou spare: let the root of love be within, of this root can nothing spring but what is good.”
Augustine of Hippo (354–430) said by 430 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“True Budo is done for the sake of "building peace". Train every day so as to make peace between this spirit [Budo] and all things manifested on the face of the Earth. (p. 26)”
Morihei Ueshiba (1883–1969) said by 1969 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Art of Peace is not easy. It is a fight to the finish, the slaying of evil desires and all falsehood within. On occasion the Voice of Peace resounds like thunder, jolting human beings out of their stupor.”
Morihei Ueshiba (1883–1969) said by 1969 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source