--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A long war is degenerating - it ruins the…" description: "\"A long war is degenerating - it ruins the mind and the soul and psyche of individuals and nations.\" — Amos Oz" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bd/amos-oz-1478_individual_a-long-war-is-degenerating-it-ruins-the_1179273.png" --- # A long war is degenerating - it ruins the mind and the… ![“A long war is degenerating - it ruins the mind and the soul and psyche of individuals and nations.” quote by Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bd/amos-oz-1478_individual_a-long-war-is-degenerating-it-ruins-the_1179273.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bd/amos-oz-1478_individual_a-long-war-is-degenerating-it-ruins-the_1179273.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bd/amos-oz-1478_individual_a-long-war-is-degenerating-it-ruins-the_1179273.png) > “A long war is degenerating - it ruins the mind and the soul and psyche of individuals and nations.” [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Prolonged conflict erodes mental and moral health of both individuals and societies. **In simple terms:** War damages mind and soul of people and nations. Key Takeaway Avoid prolonged conflict; seek peace. Themes war psychology societal health morality Mood somber reflective Type philosophical political When to use this quote - political negotiations - community building - mental health support - education on peace Key Concepts psychological decay collective trauma ethical erosion Questions to Reflect On - How does war affect personal identity? - What steps can societies take to heal after conflict? A Different Perspective Peace may be fragile and require sustained effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nations/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Ruins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruins/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [The best thing is to always keep honest people around, because when you have a bunch of yes men around that know that you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendrick-lamar/the-best-thing-is-to-always-keep-honest-people-around-because-when/) [Kendrick Lamar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendrick-lamar/) > [Man, or at least criminal man, has lost all enterprise and originality. As to my own little practice, it seems to be degenerating into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/man-or-at-least-criminal-man-has-lost-all-enterprise-and-originality/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [I am losing precious days. I am degenerating into a machine for making money. I am learning nothing in this trivial world of men.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/i-am-losing-precious-days-i-am-degenerating-into-a-machine-for-making/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [In degenerating programmes, however, theories are fabricated only in order to accommodate known facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imre-lakatos/in-degenerating-programmes-however-theories-are-fabricated-only-in/) [Imre Lakatos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imre-lakatos/) > [“Muir wrote of time not in the wilderness: “I am degenerating into a machine for making money.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-williams/muir-wrote-of-time-not-in-the-wilderness-i-am-degenerating-into-a/) [Florence Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-williams/) > [“The notion that all peoples are on the road to progress is as incorrect as that they are continuously declining and degenerating.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-bavinck/the-notion-that-all-peoples-are-on-the-road-to-progress-is-as/) [Herman Bavinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-bavinck/) > [It's the essence of a degenerating mind periodically, to lose all sense of continuous self, and therefore any regard for what others think of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/it-s-the-essence-of-a-degenerating-mind-periodically-to-lose-all/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“A long war almost always places nations in the wretched alternative of being abandoned to ruin by defeat or to despotism by success.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/a-long-war-almost-always-places-nations-in-the-wretched-alternative/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [We've been at peace about as long as e were at war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/we-ve-been-at-peace-about-as-long-as-e-were-at-war/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [The 1143-year-long war hand begun on false pretenses and only because the two races were unable to communicate. Once they could talk, the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-haldeman/the-1143-year-long-war-hand-begun-on-false-pretenses-and-only-because/) [Joe Haldeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-haldeman/) > [A long war almost always places nations in this sad alternative: that their defeat delivers them to destruction and their triumph to despotism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/a-long-war-almost-always-places-nations-in-this-sad-alternative-that/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [There can be no peace on earth as long as there is war in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-duhm/there-can-be-no-peace-on-earth-as-long-as-there-is-war-in-love/) Dieter Duhm > [How poisonous, how crafty, how bad, does every long war make one, which cannot be waged openly by means of force!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/how-poisonous-how-crafty-how-bad-does-every-long-war-make-one-which/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“One of the reasons not to have a big long war with your traditional enemy is that you’re not thinking about the third party,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-brecher/one-of-the-reasons-not-to-have-a-big-long-war-with-your-traditional/) [Gary Brecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-brecher/) > [If few can stand a long war without deterioration of soul, none can stand a long peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-spengler/if-few-can-stand-a-long-war-without-deterioration-of-soul-none-can/) [Oswald Spengler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-spengler/) ## More by Amos Oz > [I find the family the most mysterious and fascinating institution in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/i-find-the-family-the-most-mysterious-and-fascinating-institution-in/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [“All the profits that Papa made by the sweat of his brow from his mill she extorted from him and spent the lot on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/all-the-profits-that-papa-made-by-the-sweat-of-his-brow-from-his-mill/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Nobody ever predicted, a week before President Sadat came to Jerusalem in 1977, that his arrival would be the beginning of a peace process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/nobody-ever-predicted-a-week-before-president-sadat-came-to-jerusalem/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Every country in the world should follow the example of President Trump and move the embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. But simultaneously, there should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/every-country-in-the-world-should-follow-the-example-of-president/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Actually, who hasn't been through the ghastly experience of sitting in front of a blank page, with its toothless mouth grinning at you: Go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/actually-who-hasn-t-been-through-the-ghastly-experience-of-sitting-in/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [I think loathing begets fanaticism, and in the end, loathing begets hatred and violence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/i-think-loathing-begets-fanaticism-and-in-the-end-loathing-begets/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Literature is about telling stories. 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It begins with the urge to change our kin, to change our beloved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/very-often-fanaticism-begins-at-home-it-begins-inside-the-family-it/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [When I need to take a side, I write a newspaper article and I tell my government, "You should not do that, you should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/when-i-need-to-take-a-side-i-write-a-newspaper-article-and-i-tell-my/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [We have to carry through to the next day and hope that we will be okay tomorrow as we are today and in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/we-have-to-carry-through-to-the-next-day-and-hope-that-we-will-be/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Trump is many things. He is pampered. He is an immature man. 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