--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All other trades are contained in that of…" description: "\"“All other trades are contained in that of war. Is that why war endures? No. It endures because young men love it and old men love it in them. Those th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a39/cormac-mccarthy-181_249_all-other-trades-are-contained-in-that-o_395106.jpg" --- # All other trades are contained in that of war. Is that why… ![“All other trades are contained in that of war. Is that why war endures? No. It endures because young men love it and old men love it in them. Those that fought, those that did not. That's your notion. The judge smiled. Men are born for games. Nothing else. Every child knows that play is nobler…” quote by Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a39/cormac-mccarthy-181_249_all-other-trades-are-contained-in-that-o_395106.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a39/cormac-mccarthy-181_249_all-other-trades-are-contained-in-that-o_395106.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a39/cormac-mccarthy-181_249_all-other-trades-are-contained-in-that-o_395106.jpg) > ““All other trades are contained in that of war. Is that why war endures? No. It endures because young men love it and old men love it in them. Those that fought, those that did not. That's your notion. The judge smiled. Men are born for games. Nothing else. Every child knows that play is nobler than work. He knows too that the worth or merit of a game is not inherent in the game itself but rather in the value of that which is put at hazard. Games of chance require a wager to have meaning at all. Games of sport involve the skill and strength of the opponents and the humiliation of defeat and the pride of victory are in themselves sufficient stake because they inhere in the worth of the principals and define them. But trial of chance or trial of worth all games aspire to the condition of war for here that which is wagered swallows up game, player, all.”” [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. War is a game that satisfies both youthful desire for conflict and older nostalgia, turning combat into a wager of honor and identity. **In simple terms:** War is a game of honor and desire. Key Takeaway Recognize the underlying motives behind conflict. Themes war human nature honor games identity Mood grim reflective Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - military training - political negotiations - team sports - risk assessment - conflict resolution Key Concepts Existentialism psychology sociology Questions to Reflect On - Why do societies glorify war? - How does play shape adult behavior? A Different Perspective War also serves economic and political interests beyond personal desire. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Football](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/football/) [Games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/games/) [Old men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-men/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [Young men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-men/) ## Related quotes > [“Suppose two men at cards with nothing to wager save their lives. Who has not heard such a tale? 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There is an infinite chaos which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/god-is-or-he-is-not-but-to-which-side-shall-we-incline-reason-can/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [For the minimum-wager with Caligulan needs, the glory days are soon over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/for-the-minimum-wager-with-caligulan-needs-the-glory-days-are-soon/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“It's the possibility that keeps me going, not the guarantee, a sort of wager on my part.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/it-s-the-possibility-that-keeps-me-going-not-the-guarantee-a-sort-of/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [All of life is a wager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/all-of-life-is-a-wager/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Did you bring money with you, or shall we play for markers?" She flipped the stack of cards to the table with a professional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/did-you-bring-money-with-you-or-shall-we-play-for-markers-she-flipped/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [For most men (till by losing rendered sager), Will back their own opinions by a wager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/for-most-men-till-by-losing-rendered-sager-will-back-their-own/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) ## More by Cormac McCarthy > [The cooler days have brought a wistful mood upon him. The smell of coalsmoke in the air at night. Old times, dead years. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-cooler-days-have-brought-a-wistful-mood-upon-him-the-smell-of/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“The events of the world can have no separate life from the world. 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Where'd he go?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/ultimo-hombre-last-man-standing-must-ve-been-one-where-d-he-go/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“To seek out the upright. No fall but preceded by a declination. He took great marching steps into the nothingness, counting them against his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/to-seek-out-the-upright-no-fall-but-preceded-by-a-declination-he-took/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“They went through the last of the cars and then walked up the track to the locomotive and climbed up to the catwalk. Rust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/they-went-through-the-last-of-the-cars-and-then-walked-up-the-track/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“Night fell upon them dark and starblown and the wagon grew swollen near mute with dew. On their chairs in such black immobility these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/night-fell-upon-them-dark-and-starblown-and-the-wagon-grew-swollen/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“When I was in school I studied biology. I learned that in making their experiments scientists will take some group - bacteria, mice, people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/when-i-was-in-school-i-studied-biology-i-learned-that-in-making-their/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [ “We none of us knew him to speak \[Dutch\]. Asked him where he'd learned it you know what he said? What did he say.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/we-none-of-us-knew-him-to-speak-dutch-asked-him-where-he-d-learned-it/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“You know that the things you put it your head stay there, right?' 'Yeah. 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Is that why war endures? No. It endures because young men love it and old men love it in them. Those that fought, those that did not. That's your notion. The judge smiled. Men are born for games. Nothing else. Every child knows that play is nobler than work. He knows too that the worth or merit of a game is not inherent in the game itself but rather in the value of that which is put at hazard. Games of chance require a wager to have meaning at all. Games of sport involve the skill and strength of the opponents and the humiliation of defeat and the pride of victory are in themselves sufficient stake because they inhere in the worth of the principals and define them. 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