---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When one ceases from conflict, whether…"
description: "\"When one ceases from conflict, whether because he has won, because he has lost, or because he cares no more for the game, the virtue passes out of him...."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a3/charles-horton-cooley-8362_character_when-one-ceases-from-conflict-whether-be_1917597.jpg"
---

#  When one ceases from conflict, whether because he has won…

![“When one ceases from conflict, whether because he has won, because he has lost, or because he cares no more for the game, the virtue passes out of him.” quote by Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a3/charles-horton-cooley-8362_character_when-one-ceases-from-conflict-whether-be_1917597.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a3/charles-horton-cooley-8362_character_when-one-ceases-from-conflict-whether-be_1917597.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a3/charles-horton-cooley-8362_character_when-one-ceases-from-conflict-whether-be_1917597.jpg)

> “When one ceases from conflict, whether because he has won, because he has lost, or because he cares no more for the game, the virtue passes out of him.”

[Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/)

## About This Quote

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

When conflict ends, the virtue associated with it disappears, regardless of outcome or personal interest.

**In simple terms:** Virtue fades when conflict stops.

Key Takeaway

Recognize that moral drive can be situational.

Themes

ethics conflict human nature

Mood

reflective thoughtful

Type

philosophical analytical

When to use this quote

- post-war societies
- personal disputes
- team dynamics

Key Concepts

moral psychology social identity

Questions to Reflect On

- What sustains virtue without conflict?
- Can peace foster new virtues?

A Different Perspective

Virtue may be tied to external competition, not internal values.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Ceases Conflict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ceases-conflict-2924492/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Conflict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conflict/) [Conflict Won](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conflict-won-2924494/) [Game Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/game-virtue-2924493/) [Lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) [Virtue Passes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue-passes-2924495/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/)

## Related quotes

> [Silver and gold are not the only coin; virtue too passes current all over the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/silver-and-gold-are-not-the-only-coin-virtue-too-passes-current-all/)

[Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/)

> [The virtue of the soul does not consist in flying high, but in walking orderly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-virtue-of-the-soul-does-not-consist-in-flying-high-but-in-walking/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [All men have an instinct for conflict: at least, all healthy men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilaire-belloc/all-men-have-an-instinct-for-conflict-at-least-all-healthy-men/)

[Hilaire Belloc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilaire-belloc/)

> [UN peacekeeping operations are now increasingly complex and multi-dimensional, going beyond monitoring a ceasefire to actually bringing failed States back to life, often after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/un-peacekeeping-operations-are-now-increasingly-complex-and-multi/)

[Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/)

> [“While there is battle and hatred men have eyes for nothing save the fact that the enemy is the cause of all the troubles;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-butterfield/while-there-is-battle-and-hatred-men-have-eyes-for-nothing-save-the/)

[Herbert Butterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-butterfield/)

> [I understand the formula that producers hire directors and directors are hired to direct and actors are hired to act. I don't have any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-trejo/i-understand-the-formula-that-producers-hire-directors-and-directors/)

[Danny Trejo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-trejo/)

> [“These are all good things, I said. But no one knows where your country is or who you are. You don't have a familiar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-shteyngart/these-are-all-good-things-i-said-but-no-one-knows-where-your-country/)

[Gary Shteyngart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-shteyngart/)

> [The irrepressible conflict propounded by abolitionism has produced now its legitimate fruits - disunion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-irrepressible-conflict-propounded-by-abolitionism-has-produced/)

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

> [All drama is conflict. Without conflict, there is no action. Without action, there is no character. Without character, there is no story. And without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syd-field/all-drama-is-conflict-without-conflict-there-is-no-action-without/)

[Syd Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syd-field/)

> [Africa, being the major target of colonial plunder, therefore becomes a major source of conflict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-horne/africa-being-the-major-target-of-colonial-plunder-therefore-becomes-a/)

[Gerald Horne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-horne/)

> [I have lived in countries that were coming out of conflict: Ireland, South Africa, the Czech republic. People there are overflowing with energy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-have-lived-in-countries-that-were-coming-out-of-conflict-ireland/)

[Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/)

> [Conflict isn't negative, it just is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-crum/conflict-isn-t-negative-it-just-is/)

[Thomas Crum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-crum/)

> [There is a conflict in the Middle East between two entities, and they're both right, each in their own way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reuven-rivlin/there-is-a-conflict-in-the-middle-east-between-two-entities-and-they/)

[Reuven Rivlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reuven-rivlin/)

> [The U.S.-Mexican border es un herida abierta where the Third World grates against the first and bleeds. And before a scab forms it hemorrhages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-e-anzald-a/the-u-s-mexican-border-es-un-herida-abierta-where-the-third-world/)

[Gloria E. Anzaldúa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-e-anzald-a/)

> [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

## More by Charles Horton Cooley

> [So far as discipline is concerned, freedom means not its absence but the use of higher and more rational forms as contrasted with those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/so-far-as-discipline-is-concerned-freedom-means-not-its-absence-but/)

[Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/)

> [To retire to the monastery, or the woods, or the sea, is to escape from the sharp suggestions that spur on ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/to-retire-to-the-monastery-or-the-woods-or-the-sea-is-to-escape-from/)

[Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/)

> [Each man must have his I; it is more necessary to him than bread; and if he does not find scope for it within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/each-man-must-have-his-i-it-is-more-necessary-to-him-than-bread-and/)

[Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/)

> [I is a militant social tendency, working to hold and enlarge its place in the general current of tendencies. So far as it can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/i-is-a-militant-social-tendency-working-to-hold-and-enlarge-its-place/)

[Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/)

> [“I am not what I think I am, and I am not what you think I am. I am what I think you think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/i-am-not-what-i-think-i-am-and-i-am-not-what-you-think-i-am-i-am-what/)

[Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/)

> [One should never criticize his own work except in a fresh and hopeful mood. The self-criticism of a tired mind is suicide.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/one-should-never-criticize-his-own-work-except-in-a-fresh-and-hopeful/)

[Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/)

> [It happens from time to time in every complex and active society, that certain persons feel the complexity and insistence as a tangle, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/it-happens-from-time-to-time-in-every-complex-and-active-society-that/)

[Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/)

> [Since freedom is not a fixed thing that can be grasped and held once for all, but a growth, any particular society, such as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/since-freedom-is-not-a-fixed-thing-that-can-be-grasped-and-held-once/)

[Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/)

> [If we divine a discrepancy between a man's words and his character, the whole impression of him becomes broken and painful; he revolts the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/if-we-divine-a-discrepancy-between-a-man-s-words-and-his-character/)

[Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/)

> [To get away from one's working environment is, in a sense, to get away from one's self; and this is often the chief advantage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/to-get-away-from-one-s-working-environment-is-in-a-sense-to-get-away/)

[Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/)

> [In the days of witchcraft it used to be believed that if one person secretly made a waxen image of another and stuck pins…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/in-the-days-of-witchcraft-it-used-to-be-believed-that-if-one-person/)

[Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/)

> [To persuade is more trouble than to dominate, and the powerful seldom take this trouble if they can avoid it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/to-persuade-is-more-trouble-than-to-dominate-and-the-powerful-seldom/)

[Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/)

> [The social self is simply any idea, or system of ideas, drawn from the communicative life, that the mind cherishes as its own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/the-social-self-is-simply-any-idea-or-system-of-ideas-drawn-from-the/)

[Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/)

> [Form the habit of making decisions when your spirit is fresh...to let dark moods lead is like choosing cowards to command armies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/form-the-habit-of-making-decisions-when-your-spirit-is-fresh-to-let/)

[Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/)

> [The idea of freedom is quite in accord with a general, though vague, sentiment among us; it is an idea of fair play, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/the-idea-of-freedom-is-quite-in-accord-with-a-general-though-vague/)

[Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/)

[Explore all 81 Charles Horton Cooley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/)

## More Character quotes

> [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/)

[Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/)

> [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/)

[Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/)

> [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/)

[Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/)

> [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/)

[Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/)

> [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/)

[David Hudgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hudgins/)

> [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/)

[Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/)

> [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/)

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

> [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/)

[Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/)

> [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/)

[Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/)

> [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/)

[Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/)

> [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/)

[Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/)

> [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/)

[Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/)

> [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/)

[Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/)

[Browse all 32,707 Character quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "When one ceases from conflict, whether because he has won, because he has lost, or because he cares no more for the game, the virtue passes out of him.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Charles Horton Cooley"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/when-one-ceases-from-conflict-whether-because-he-has-won-because-he/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Character"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/when-one-ceases-from-conflict-whether-because-he-has-won-because-he/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a3/charles-horton-cooley-8362_character_when-one-ceases-from-conflict-whether-be_1917597.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a3/charles-horton-cooley-8362_character_when-one-ceases-from-conflict-whether-be_1917597.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a3/charles-horton-cooley-8362_character_when-one-ceases-from-conflict-whether-be_1917597.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“When one ceases from conflict, whether because he has won, because he has lost, or because he cares no more…” — Charles Horton Cooley",
                "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": "Charles Horton Cooley",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "When one ceases from conflict, whether...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/when-one-ceases-from-conflict-whether-because-he-has-won-because-he/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/when-one-ceases-from-conflict-whether-because-he-has-won-because-he/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
