--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: War makes men barbarous because, to take…" description: "\"War makes men barbarous because, to take part in it, one must harden oneself against all regret, all appreciation of delicacy and sensitive values. One..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f8/cesare-pavese-1924_appreciation_war-makes-men-barbarous-because-to-take_1085207.jpg" --- # War makes men barbarous because, to take part in it, one… ![“War makes men barbarous because, to take part in it, one must harden oneself against all regret, all appreciation of delicacy and sensitive values. One must live as if those values did not exist, and when the war is over one has lost the resilience to return to those values.” quote by Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f8/cesare-pavese-1924_appreciation_war-makes-men-barbarous-because-to-take_1085207.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f8/cesare-pavese-1924_appreciation_war-makes-men-barbarous-because-to-take_1085207.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f8/cesare-pavese-1924_appreciation_war-makes-men-barbarous-because-to-take_1085207.jpg) > “War makes men barbarous because, to take part in it, one must harden oneself against all regret, all appreciation of delicacy and sensitive values. One must live as if those values did not exist, and when the war is over one has lost the resilience to return to those values.” [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. War forces people to suppress sensitivity, making it hard to read to delicate values after conflict. **In simple terms:** War hardens people, eroding sensitivity. Key Takeaway Cultivate resilience to restore values post‑war. Themes war humanity psychology values Mood somber reflective Type literary psychological When to use this quote - veteran support - peacebuilding - mental health counseling Key Concepts Desensitization resilience post‑war reintegration Questions to Reflect On - What helps restore sensitivity after trauma? - Can societies heal without confronting war’s impact? A Different Perspective Some argue individuals can retain values despite war. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Appreciation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appreciation/) [Gratitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gratitude/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Regret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regret/) [Resilience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resilience/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [The very word 'war', therefore, has become misleading. It would probably be accurate to say that by becoming continuous war has ceased to exist.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-very-word-war-therefore-has-become-misleading-it-would-probably/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [I'm a good little middle-class boy. I live in Gloucestershire or Kensington. I don't exist in the war zone, but it's certainly not far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/i-m-a-good-little-middle-class-boy-i-live-in-gloucestershire-or/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [My ancestors came over from Germany about the time of the Civil War and one of them lost a leg and went back to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/my-ancestors-came-over-from-germany-about-the-time-of-the-civil-war/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“For want of a nail the shoe was lost; for want of a shoe the horse was lost; for want of a horse the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/for-want-of-a-nail-the-shoe-was-lost-for-want-of-a-shoe-the-horse-was/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [I remember when I was in the prisoner camp, I was a French prisoner. 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There is no necessity to take into consideration the basis…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/if-the-war-is-lost-the-nation-will-also-perish-this-fate-is/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [But everything is fair in love and war would be lost to me because I love her but she does not love me You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/but-everything-is-fair-in-love-and-war-would-be-lost-to-me-because-i/) Mak\_786 > [Santangelo is irritated. "We're not suppose to be collaborating. It's supposed to be a war and you're supposed to stick to the boundaries." "We've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/santangelo-is-irritated-we-re-not-suppose-to-be-collaborating-it-s/) [Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/) > [I'm sure it is, I'm not for any kind of war, we've been engaged in several wars since the second world war and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-hagman/i-m-sure-it-is-i-m-not-for-any-kind-of-war-we-ve-been-engaged-in/) [Larry Hagman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-hagman/) > [The devil has been real busy, busy fighting a war he has already lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sashauni-aaeliyae/the-devil-has-been-real-busy-busy-fighting-a-war-he-has-already-lost/) Sashauni Aaeliyae > [“It is vital that we not be made to seem wholly helpless in the opening moments of the war. Once a nation ceases to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/it-is-vital-that-we-not-be-made-to-seem-wholly-helpless-in-the/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [That is what you are. That's what you all are...All of you young people who served in the war. You are a lost generation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/that-is-what-you-are-that-s-what-you-all-are-all-of-you-young-people/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [This war is lost and the surge is not accomplishing anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-reid/this-war-is-lost-and-the-surge-is-not-accomplishing-anything/) [Harry Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-reid/) > [“There are situations that a nation may be in, in which peace or war, abstracted from every other consideration, may be politically right or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/there-are-situations-that-a-nation-may-be-in-in-which-peace-or-war/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) ## More by Cesare Pavese > [Dawn's faint breath breathes with your mouth at the ends of empty streets. Gray light your eyes, sweet drops of dawn on dark hills.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/dawn-s-faint-breath-breathes-with-your-mouth-at-the-ends-of-empty/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [In the mental disturbance and effort of writing, what sustains you is the certainty that on every page there is something left unsaid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/in-the-mental-disturbance-and-effort-of-writing-what-sustains-you-is/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [Why does a man who is truly in love insist that this relationship must continue and be "lifelong"? Because life is pain and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/why-does-a-man-who-is-truly-in-love-insist-that-this-relationship/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [I thought of how many places there are in the world that belong in this way to someone, who has it in his blood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/i-thought-of-how-many-places-there-are-in-the-world-that-belong-in/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [Now that I've seen what war is, what civil war is, I know that everybody, if one day it should end, ought to ask…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/now-that-i-ve-seen-what-war-is-what-civil-war-is-i-know-that/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [It had to happen to you, to concentrate your whole life on one point, and then discover that you can do anything except live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/it-had-to-happen-to-you-to-concentrate-your-whole-life-on-one-point/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [There is only one pleasure-that of being alive. All the rest is misery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/there-is-only-one-pleasure-that-of-being-alive-all-the-rest-is-misery/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [But here's the worst part: the trick to life lies in hiding from those we hold most dear how much they mean to is;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/but-here-s-the-worst-part-the-trick-to-life-lies-in-hiding-from-those/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/traveling-is-a-brutality-it-forces-you-to-trust-strangers-and-to-lose/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [“Meanwhile we arrived at our lane and the sight of the olive tree rubbed me the wrong way. I began to see that no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/meanwhile-we-arrived-at-our-lane-and-the-sight-of-the-olive-tree/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [Verrà la morte e avrà i tuoi occhi. (Death will come and it will have your eyes.)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/verr-la-morte-e-avr-i-tuoi-occhi-death-will-come-and-it-will-have/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [All our "most sacred affections " are merely prosaic habit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/all-our-most-sacred-affections-are-merely-prosaic-habit/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [There comes a day when, for someone who has persecuted us, we feel only indifference, a weariness at his stupidity. Then we forgive him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/there-comes-a-day-when-for-someone-who-has-persecuted-us-we-feel-only/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [A consoling thought: what matters is not what we do, but the spirit in which we do it. Others suffer too; so much so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/a-consoling-thought-what-matters-is-not-what-we-do-but-the-spirit-in/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [One does not kill oneself for love of a woman, but because love - any love - reveals us in our nakedness, our misery,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/one-does-not-kill-oneself-for-love-of-a-woman-but-because-love-any/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) [Explore all 171 Cesare Pavese quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) ## More Appreciation quotes > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [Time can but make her beauty over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/time-can-but-make-her-beauty-over-again/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [The writings of latter-day prophets clearly teach that the sorrows and sufferings endured by Adam and Eve upon their leaving the Garden of Eden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-k-judd/the-writings-of-latter-day-prophets-clearly-teach-that-the-sorrows/) Daniel K Judd > [Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/wine-is-one-of-the-most-civilized-things-in-the-world-and-one-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [A very small percentage of the people in this world will actually experience and live today. So many people will be stuck on another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/a-very-small-percentage-of-the-people-in-this-world-will-actually/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) > [Stop chasing the things you want and embrace all that you already have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/stop-chasing-the-things-you-want-and-embrace-all-that-you-already-have/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Appreciation is the purest vibration that exists on the planet today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-hicks/appreciation-is-the-purest-vibration-that-exists-on-the-planet-today/) [Esther Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-hicks/) > [“My thank-yous always come out rather labored. I often don't give them at all. People do what they're supposed to do and then wait…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/my-thank-yous-always-come-out-rather-labored-i-often-don-t-give-them/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [“Like gratitude, authentic appreciation in the workplace is a realisation that can be nurtured and accessed with daily mindful practice. By and large, people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dines/like-gratitude-authentic-appreciation-in-the-workplace-is-a/) [Christopher Dines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dines/) > [Think of your mind, your emotions, and your spirit as the ultimate garden. The way to ensure a bountiful, nourishing harvest is to plant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/think-of-your-mind-your-emotions-and-your-spirit-as-the-ultimate/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [“Recognize and appreciate little things, and enjoy what Life has to offer”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-nikko-caharian-iii/recognize-and-appreciate-little-things-and-enjoy-what-life-has-to/) Cesar Nikko Caharian III > [Men, when it comes to women, value diamonds and put no stock into copper. Diamonds are rare. You can find copper anywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enhance-dreams/men-when-it-comes-to-women-value-diamonds-and-put-no-stock-into/) Enhance Dreams > [“Everything we perceive to be solid and static is made up of almost entirely empty space.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-p-kauffman/everything-we-perceive-to-be-solid-and-static-is-made-up-of-almost/) [Joseph P. Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-p-kauffman/) > [Be very slow to believe that you are wiser than all others; it is a fatal but common error. Where one has been saved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/be-very-slow-to-believe-that-you-are-wiser-than-all-others-it-is-a/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) [Browse all 2,528 Appreciation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appreciation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "War makes men barbarous because, to take part in it, one must harden oneself against all regret, all appreciation of delicacy and sensitive values. 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