---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Conquest is shown to be an arbitrary act…"
description: "\"“Conquest is shown to be an arbitrary act devoid of distinction and significance.”\" — Andrew Hadfield"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/063/andrew-hadfield-219147_conquest_conquest-is-shown-to-be-an-arbitrary-act_3229213.jpg"
---

#  Conquest is shown to be an arbitrary act devoid of…

![“Conquest is shown to be an arbitrary act devoid of distinction and significance.” quote by Andrew Hadfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/063/andrew-hadfield-219147_conquest_conquest-is-shown-to-be-an-arbitrary-act_3229213.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/063/andrew-hadfield-219147_conquest_conquest-is-shown-to-be-an-arbitrary-act_3229213.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/063/andrew-hadfield-219147_conquest_conquest-is-shown-to-be-an-arbitrary-act_3229213.jpg)

> ““Conquest is shown to be an arbitrary act devoid of distinction and significance.””

[Andrew Hadfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-hadfield/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Conquest is portrayed as an arbitrary, meaningless act lacking true significance or distinction.

**In simple terms:** Conquest is meaningless and arbitrary.

Key Takeaway

Question the purpose of conquest.

Themes

power war meaninglessness arbitrariness history

Mood

critical skeptical philosophical

Type

Conquest:1 Arbitrary Act:1 Conquest Shown:0 Devoid Distinction:0 Distinction Significance:0

When to use this quote

- military campaigns
- political debates
- historical analysis

Key Concepts

political theory ethical critique philosophy of war

Questions to Reflect On

- Is any conquest ever justified?
- What defines meaningful action?

A Different Perspective

Conquest can be justified by perceived benefits.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Arbitrary Act](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arbitrary-act-5864229/) [Conquest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conquest/) [Conquest Shown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conquest-shown-6102213/) [Devoid Distinction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devoid-distinction-6102214/) [Distinction Significance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distinction-significance-6102215/)

## Related quotes

> [Thus the creation, which seems an arbitrary act, supposes laws as invariable as those of the fatality of the Atheists. It would be absurd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/thus-the-creation-which-seems-an-arbitrary-act-supposes-laws-as/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [There must be a law if there is to be liberty. Try to play a piano and you will run into laws as fixed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-rogers/there-must-be-a-law-if-there-is-to-be-liberty-try-to-play-a-piano-and/)

[Adrian Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-rogers/)

> [In scientific thought, the concept functions all the better for being cut off from all background images. In its full exercise, the scientific concept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/in-scientific-thought-the-concept-functions-all-the-better-for-being/)

[Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/)

> [Misgovernment is of four kinds, often in combination. They are: 1) tyranny or oppression, of which history provides so many well-known examples that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/misgovernment-is-of-four-kinds-often-in-combination-they-are-1/)

[Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/)

> [The film The Conquest will be seen on many different levels and the American point of view is always more technical. The French are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xavier-durringer/the-film-the-conquest-will-be-seen-on-many-different-levels-and-the/)

[Xavier Durringer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xavier-durringer/)

> [At length weariness succeeds to labor, and the mind lies at ease in the contemplation of her own attainments without any desire of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/at-length-weariness-succeeds-to-labor-and-the-mind-lies-at-ease-in/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [I refer to the misunderstanding of Soviet Russia as an aggressive power, militaristically and ideologically bent upon world domination 'seeing', to quote a recent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enoch-powell/i-refer-to-the-misunderstanding-of-soviet-russia-as-an-aggressive/)

[Enoch Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enoch-powell/)

> [By the age of three, the child has already laid down the foundations of his personality as a human being, and only then does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/by-the-age-of-three-the-child-has-already-laid-down-the-foundations/)

[Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/)

> [It is in meeting the great tests that mankind can most successfully rise to great heights. Out of danger and restless insecurity comes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/it-is-in-meeting-the-great-tests-that-mankind-can-most-successfully/)

[Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/)

> [I have visited sweatshops, factories, and crowded slums. If I could not see it, I could smell it. The foundation of society is laid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/i-have-visited-sweatshops-factories-and-crowded-slums-if-i-could-not/)

[Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/)

> [Any piece of knowledge which the pupil has himself acquired- any problem which he has himself solved, becomes, by virtue of the conquest, much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/any-piece-of-knowledge-which-the-pupil-has-himself-acquired-any/)

[Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/)

> [We must not forget that what I mean by the conquest of the world by spiritual thought is the sending out of the life-giving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/we-must-not-forget-that-what-i-mean-by-the-conquest-of-the-world-by/)

[Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/)

> [If love is the quest, then marriage is the conquest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-love-is-the-quest-then-marriage-is-the-conquest/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Politics...You see, it depends on what kind of politics. What we did during my father's generation was a duty. And it was beautiful because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/politics-you-see-it-depends-on-what-kind-of-politics-what-we-did/)

[Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/)

> [Here's the reality. The image of a white Jesus has been used to justify enslavement, conquest, colonialism, the genocide of indigenous peoples. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/here-s-the-reality-the-image-of-a-white-jesus-has-been-used-to/)

[Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/)

## More Conquest quotes

> [Here's the reality. The image of a white Jesus has been used to justify enslavement, conquest, colonialism, the genocide of indigenous peoples. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/here-s-the-reality-the-image-of-a-white-jesus-has-been-used-to/)

[Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/)

> [Politics...You see, it depends on what kind of politics. What we did during my father's generation was a duty. And it was beautiful because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/politics-you-see-it-depends-on-what-kind-of-politics-what-we-did/)

[Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/)

> [If love is the quest, then marriage is the conquest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-love-is-the-quest-then-marriage-is-the-conquest/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [We must not forget that what I mean by the conquest of the world by spiritual thought is the sending out of the life-giving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/we-must-not-forget-that-what-i-mean-by-the-conquest-of-the-world-by/)

[Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/)

> [Any piece of knowledge which the pupil has himself acquired- any problem which he has himself solved, becomes, by virtue of the conquest, much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/any-piece-of-knowledge-which-the-pupil-has-himself-acquired-any/)

[Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/)

> [I have visited sweatshops, factories, and crowded slums. If I could not see it, I could smell it. The foundation of society is laid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/i-have-visited-sweatshops-factories-and-crowded-slums-if-i-could-not/)

[Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/)

> [It is in meeting the great tests that mankind can most successfully rise to great heights. Out of danger and restless insecurity comes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/it-is-in-meeting-the-great-tests-that-mankind-can-most-successfully/)

[Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/)

> [By the age of three, the child has already laid down the foundations of his personality as a human being, and only then does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/by-the-age-of-three-the-child-has-already-laid-down-the-foundations/)

[Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/)

> [I refer to the misunderstanding of Soviet Russia as an aggressive power, militaristically and ideologically bent upon world domination 'seeing', to quote a recent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enoch-powell/i-refer-to-the-misunderstanding-of-soviet-russia-as-an-aggressive/)

[Enoch Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enoch-powell/)

> [At length weariness succeeds to labor, and the mind lies at ease in the contemplation of her own attainments without any desire of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/at-length-weariness-succeeds-to-labor-and-the-mind-lies-at-ease-in/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [The film The Conquest will be seen on many different levels and the American point of view is always more technical. The French are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xavier-durringer/the-film-the-conquest-will-be-seen-on-many-different-levels-and-the/)

[Xavier Durringer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xavier-durringer/)

> [Misgovernment is of four kinds, often in combination. They are: 1) tyranny or oppression, of which history provides so many well-known examples that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/misgovernment-is-of-four-kinds-often-in-combination-they-are-1/)

[Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/)

> [In scientific thought, the concept functions all the better for being cut off from all background images. In its full exercise, the scientific concept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/in-scientific-thought-the-concept-functions-all-the-better-for-being/)

[Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/)

> [There must be a law if there is to be liberty. Try to play a piano and you will run into laws as fixed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-rogers/there-must-be-a-law-if-there-is-to-be-liberty-try-to-play-a-piano-and/)

[Adrian Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-rogers/)

> [The Islamic conquest of India is probably the bloodiest story in history. It is a discouraging tale, for its evident moral is that civilization…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/the-islamic-conquest-of-india-is-probably-the-bloodiest-story-in/)

[Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/)

[Browse all 567 Conquest quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conquest/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Conquest is shown to be an arbitrary act devoid of distinction and significance.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Andrew Hadfield"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-hadfield/conquest-is-shown-to-be-an-arbitrary-act-devoid-of-distinction-and/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Conquest"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-hadfield/conquest-is-shown-to-be-an-arbitrary-act-devoid-of-distinction-and/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/063/andrew-hadfield-219147_conquest_conquest-is-shown-to-be-an-arbitrary-act_3229213.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/063/andrew-hadfield-219147_conquest_conquest-is-shown-to-be-an-arbitrary-act_3229213.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/063/andrew-hadfield-219147_conquest_conquest-is-shown-to-be-an-arbitrary-act_3229213.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Conquest is shown to be an arbitrary act devoid of distinction and significance.” — Andrew Hadfield",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Andrew Hadfield",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-hadfield/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Conquest is shown to be an...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-hadfield/conquest-is-shown-to-be-an-arbitrary-act-devoid-of-distinction-and/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-hadfield/conquest-is-shown-to-be-an-arbitrary-act-devoid-of-distinction-and/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```