--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A war for a great principle ennobles a…" description: "\"A war for a great principle ennobles a nation. A war for commercial supremacy, upon some shallow pretext, is despicable, and more than aught else demon..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b23/albert-pike-4863_baseness_a-war-for-a-great-principle-ennobles-a-n_2233103.jpg" --- # A war for a great principle ennobles a nation. A war for… ![“A war for a great principle ennobles a nation. A war for commercial supremacy, upon some shallow pretext, is despicable, and more than aught else demonstrates to what immeasurable depths of baseness men and nations can descend.” quote by Albert Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b23/albert-pike-4863_baseness_a-war-for-a-great-principle-ennobles-a-n_2233103.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b23/albert-pike-4863_baseness_a-war-for-a-great-principle-ennobles-a-n_2233103.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b23/albert-pike-4863_baseness_a-war-for-a-great-principle-ennobles-a-n_2233103.jpg) > “A war for a great principle ennobles a nation. A war for commercial supremacy, upon some shallow pretext, is despicable, and more than aught else demonstrates to what immeasurable depths of baseness men and nations can descend.” [Albert Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-pike/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Principled wars elevate a nation’s moral standing, while wars for profit reveal deep moral corruption. **In simple terms:** Principle‑driven war is noble; profit‑driven war is vile. Key Takeaway Seek just causes. Themes war ethics nationalism morality politics Mood serious inquisitive reflective Type philosophical political historical When to use this quote - military leadership - policy debate - public discourse - historical analysis Key Concepts just war theory moral philosophy national identity Questions to Reflect On - What defines a 'great principle'? - Can a war be both principled and self‑serving? A Different Perspective Moral judgments can be subjective and used to justify aggression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Baseness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baseness/) [Commercial Supremacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commercial-supremacy-1197011/) [Depth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depth/) [Despicable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despicable/) [Great Principle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-principle-353767/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Nation War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nation-war-1098693/) [Nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nations/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Pretext](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretext/) [Principle Ennobles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principle-ennobles-389929/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) [Shallow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shallow/) [Supremacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supremacy/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [War Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war-great-389930/) ## Related quotes > [A war for a great principle ennobles a nation. A war for commercial supremacy, upon some shallow pretext, is despicable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-pike/a-war-for-a-great-principle-ennobles-a-nation-a-war-for-commercial/) [Albert Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-pike/) > [A war for a great principle ennobles a nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-pike/a-war-for-a-great-principle-ennobles-a-nation/) [Albert Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-pike/) > [Today the American knight holds the commercial supremacy of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-ross/today-the-american-knight-holds-the-commercial-supremacy-of-the-world/) [Betsy Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-ross/) > [We are a nation at war - and we should act like it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-are-a-nation-at-war-and-we-should-act-like-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Any method which appears to offer advantages to a nation at war will be vigorously employed by that nation. There is but one logical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-merck/any-method-which-appears-to-offer-advantages-to-a-nation-at-war-will/) [George W. Merck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-merck/) > [We are a nation at war. This is also a time for hard choices. It's about ensuring that we are able to prevail in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-panetta/we-are-a-nation-at-war-this-is-also-a-time-for-hard-choices-it-s/) [Leon Panetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-panetta/) > [Every nation has its war party... It is commercial, imperialistic, ruthless. It tolerates no opposition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-nation-has-its-war-party-it-is-commercial-imperialistic/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To have good soldiers, a nation must always be at war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/to-have-good-soldiers-a-nation-must-always-be-at-war/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [When one nation is at war with another nation, the political machine does everything it can to vilify the people of the other nation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-siddig/when-one-nation-is-at-war-with-another-nation-the-political-machine/) [Alexander Siddig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-siddig/) > [There is no bigger judgment for a president of the United States than how you take a nation to war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kerry/there-is-no-bigger-judgment-for-a-president-of-the-united-states-than/) [John F. Kerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kerry/) > [The one great principle of English law is to make business for itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-one-great-principle-of-english-law-is-to-make-business-for-itself/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [The one great principle of the English law is, to make business for itself. There is no other principle distinctly, certainly, and consistently maintained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-one-great-principle-of-the-english-law-is-to-make-business-for-2/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [When you cannot answer a skeptic, be content to wait for more light; but never forsake a great principle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/when-you-cannot-answer-a-skeptic-be-content-to-wait-for-more-light/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [I deny the right of Congress to force a slaveholding State upon an unwilling people. I deny their right to force a free State…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-a-douglas/i-deny-the-right-of-congress-to-force-a-slaveholding-state-upon-an/) [Stephen A. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-a-douglas/) > [The one great principle of the English law is, to make business for itself. There is no other principle distinctly, certainly, and consistently maintained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-one-great-principle-of-the-english-law-is-to-make-business-for/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) ## More by Albert Pike > [A war for a great principle ennobles a nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-pike/a-war-for-a-great-principle-ennobles-a-nation/) [Albert Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-pike/) > [The doctrines of the Bible are often not clothed in the language of strict truth, but in that which was fittest to convey to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-pike/the-doctrines-of-the-bible-are-often-not-clothed-in-the-language-of/) [Albert Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-pike/) > [If the Soul sees, after death , what passes on this earth , and watches over the welfare of those it loves, then must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-pike/if-the-soul-sees-after-death-what-passes-on-this-earth-and-watches/) [Albert Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-pike/) > [The double law of attraction and radiation or of sympathy and antipathy, of fixedness and movement, which is the principle of Creation, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-pike/the-double-law-of-attraction-and-radiation-or-of-sympathy-and/) [Albert Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-pike/) > [Death is the inseparable antecedent of life; the seed dies in order to produce the plant, and earth itself is rent asunder and dies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-pike/death-is-the-inseparable-antecedent-of-life-the-seed-dies-in-order-to/) [Albert Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-pike/) > [We are all naturally seekers of wonders. We travel far to see the majesty of old ruins, the venerable forms of the hoary mountains,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-pike/we-are-all-naturally-seekers-of-wonders-we-travel-far-to-see-the/) [Albert Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-pike/) > [The Blue Degrees are but the outer court...of the temple. Part of the symbols are displayed there to the initiate, but he is intentionally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-pike/the-blue-degrees-are-but-the-outer-court-of-the-temple-part-of-the/) [Albert Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-pike/) > [Virtue is but heroic bravery, to do the thing thought to be true, in spite of all enemies of flesh or spirit, in despite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-pike/virtue-is-but-heroic-bravery-to-do-the-thing-thought-to-be-true-in/) [Albert Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-pike/) > [“The freest people, like the freest man, is always in danger of re-lapsing into servitude. Wars are almost always fatal to Republics. They create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-pike/the-freest-people-like-the-freest-man-is-always-in-danger-of-re/) [Albert Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-pike/) > [Know thou the self (spirit) as riding in a chariot, The body as the chariot. Know thou the intellect as the chariot-driver, And the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-pike/know-thou-the-self-spirit-as-riding-in-a-chariot-the-body-as-the/) [Albert Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-pike/) > [There are great truths at the foundation of Freemasonry, truths which it is its mission to teach and which is constituting the very essence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-pike/there-are-great-truths-at-the-foundation-of-freemasonry-truths-which/) [Albert Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-pike/) > [That which causes us trials shall yield us triumph: and that which make our hearts ache shall fill us with gladness. The only true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-pike/that-which-causes-us-trials-shall-yield-us-triumph-and-that-which/) [Albert Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-pike/) > [That which we say and do, if its effects last not beyond our lives, is unimportant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-pike/that-which-we-say-and-do-if-its-effects-last-not-beyond-our-lives-is/) [Albert Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-pike/) > [War is a series of catastrophes which result in victory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-pike/war-is-a-series-of-catastrophes-which-result-in-victory/) [Albert Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-pike/) > [“Religion would, in many points, not be comprehended by the ignorant, nor consolatory to them, nor guiding and supporting for them. The doctrines of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-pike/religion-would-in-many-points-not-be-comprehended-by-the-ignorant-nor/) [Albert Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-pike/) [Explore all 105 Albert Pike quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-pike/) ## More Baseness quotes > [O fools, awake! The rites ye sacred hold Are but a cheat contrived by men of old Who lusted after wealth and gained their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-ma-arri/o-fools-awake-the-rites-ye-sacred-hold-are-but-a-cheat-contrived-by/) [Al-Maʿarri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-ma-arri/) > [There are only two great currents in the history of mankind: the baseness which makes conservatives and the envy which makes revolutionaries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmond-de-goncourt/there-are-only-two-great-currents-in-the-history-of-mankind-the/) [Edmond de Goncourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmond-de-goncourt/) > [Nothing is more repugnant to me than brotherly feelings grounded in the common baseness people see in one another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/nothing-is-more-repugnant-to-me-than-brotherly-feelings-grounded-in/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [No, no, there must be a limit to the baseness even of publishers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/no-no-there-must-be-a-limit-to-the-baseness-even-of-publishers/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [I once did hold it, as our statists do, A baseness to write fair, and labour'd much How to forget that learning; but, sir,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-once-did-hold-it-as-our-statists-do-a-baseness-to-write-fair-and/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/a-nation-can-survive-its-fools-and-even-the-ambitious-but-it-cannot/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [Those who profess contempt for men, and put them on a level with beasts, yet wish to be admired and believed by men, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/those-who-profess-contempt-for-men-and-put-them-on-a-level-with/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [It (the heart) is supposed in popular language, to be the seat sometimes, of courage, sometimes of affection, sometimes of honesty, or baseness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/it-the-heart-is-supposed-in-popular-language-to-be-the-seat-sometimes/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [How many a father have I seen, A sober man, among his boys, Whose youth was full of foolish noise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/how-many-a-father-have-i-seen-a-sober-man-among-his-boys-whose-youth/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [The motions of men must be such as suggest their dignity or their baseness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/the-motions-of-men-must-be-such-as-suggest-their-dignity-or-their/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [ There is no more evil thing in this world than race prejudice, none at all. \[...\] It justifies and holds together more baseness, cruelty,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells/there-is-no-more-evil-thing-in-this-world-than-race-prejudice-none-at/) [H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/) > [When the scale of sensuality bears down that of reason, the baseness of our nature conducts us to most preposterous conclusions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-chamberlain/when-the-scale-of-sensuality-bears-down-that-of-reason-the-baseness/) [Roger Chamberlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-chamberlain/) > [Advertizing, television and film all wield mighty powers to visually seduce us, while much fine art leaves us indifferent, confused or, at worst, repulsed.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walford/advertizing-television-and-film-all-wield-mighty-powers-to-visually/) [John Walford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walford/) > [To think is to take a cunning revenge in which we camouflage our baseness and conceal our lower instincts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/to-think-is-to-take-a-cunning-revenge-in-which-we-camouflage-our/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [The tyrant, who in order to hold his power, suppresses every superiority, does away with good men, forbids education and light, controls every movement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-tyrant-who-in-order-to-hold-his-power-suppresses-every/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) [Browse all 58 Baseness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baseness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A war for a great principle ennobles a nation. 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