--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I can write no other than this: unless we…" description: "\"I can write no other than this: unless we use the weapons of the spirit, denying ourselves and taking up our cross and following Jesus, dying with Him ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c6/dorothy-day-1629_aggression_i-can-write-no-other-than-this-unless-we_1452680.png" --- # I can write no other than this: unless we use the weapons… ![“I can write no other than this: unless we use the weapons of the spirit, denying ourselves and taking up our cross and following Jesus, dying with Him and rising with Him, men will go on fighting, and often from the highest motives, believing that they are fighting defensive wars for justice and…” quote by Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c6/dorothy-day-1629_aggression_i-can-write-no-other-than-this-unless-we_1452680.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c6/dorothy-day-1629_aggression_i-can-write-no-other-than-this-unless-we_1452680.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c6/dorothy-day-1629_aggression_i-can-write-no-other-than-this-unless-we_1452680.png) > “I can write no other than this: unless we use the weapons of the spirit, denying ourselves and taking up our cross and following Jesus, dying with Him and rising with Him, men will go on fighting, and often from the highest motives, believing that they are fighting defensive wars for justice and in self-defense against present or future aggression.” [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Spiritual commitment is essential to prevent conflicts driven by misguided noble motives. **In simple terms:** Spiritual commitment prevents misguided wars. Key Takeaway Cultivate spiritual discipline. Themes faith peace justice Mood reflective serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - activism - religious practice - conflict resolution Key Concepts moral responsibility spiritual warfare Questions to Reflect On - How can spiritual practice influence political decisions? - What are the limits of moral persuasion? A Different Perspective Spiritual effort alone may not stop material causes of war. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aggression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aggression/) [Following jesus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/following-jesus/) [Jesus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jesus/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Motive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motive/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self defense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-defense/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [Weapons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weapons/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“Never stop believing that fighting for what's right is worth it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-stop-believing-that-fighting-for-what-s-right-is-worth-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We are to love God for Himself, because of a twofold reason; nothing is more reasonable, nothing more profitable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-of-clairvaux/we-are-to-love-god-for-himself-because-of-a-twofold-reason-nothing-is/) [Bernard of Clairvaux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-of-clairvaux/) > [People are stumbling over the simplest things. Take, for instance, that word believeth. You would think that was plain enough for anybody, but all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-allen-ironside/people-are-stumbling-over-the-simplest-things-take-for-instance-that/) [Henry Allen Ironside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-allen-ironside/) > [Being in Christ, it is safe to forget the past; it is possible to be sure of the future; it is possible to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-maclaren/being-in-christ-it-is-safe-to-forget-the-past-it-is-possible-to-be/) [Alexander MacLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-maclaren/) > [Jesus cannot be just liked. His claims make us either kill him or crown him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/jesus-cannot-be-just-liked-his-claims-make-us-either-kill-him-or/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [Jesus says, "I want you to follow me so fully, so intensely, so enduringly that all other attachments in your life look weak by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/jesus-says-i-want-you-to-follow-me-so-fully-so-intensely-so/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [We only have victory over satan when we walk in the Spirit in Christ Jesus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-b-joshua/we-only-have-victory-over-satan-when-we-walk-in-the-spirit-in-christ/) [T. B. Joshua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-b-joshua/) > [Following Jesus is simple, but not easy. Love until it hurts, and then love more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/following-jesus-is-simple-but-not-easy-love-until-it-hurts-and-then/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [If my ruling disposition is self-interest, I perceive that everything that happens to me is always for or against my self-interest; if, on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/if-my-ruling-disposition-is-self-interest-i-perceive-that-everything/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [The road that leads to heaven is risky, lonely, and costly in this world, and few are willing to pay the price. Following Jesus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-platt/the-road-that-leads-to-heaven-is-risky-lonely-and-costly-in-this/) [David Platt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-platt/) > [God Himself supplies the necessary condition to come to Jesus, that's why it is 'sola gratia,' by grace alone, that we are saved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/god-himself-supplies-the-necessary-condition-to-come-to-jesus-that-s/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) > [The most effective way to win people to Jesus is to treat them the way Jesus would day in and day out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-peterson/the-most-effective-way-to-win-people-to-jesus-is-to-treat-them-the/) [Jacob Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-peterson/) > [Christ came to bring healing to those who are spiritually sick-you say that you are perfectly well, so you must go your own way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/christ-came-to-bring-healing-to-those-who-are-spiritually-sick-you/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [One thing the young Christian should be taught as quickly as possible after his conversion is that Jesus Christ is all he needs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/one-thing-the-young-christian-should-be-taught-as-quickly-as-possible/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [Have the courage to go against the tide of current values that do not conform to the path of Jesus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/have-the-courage-to-go-against-the-tide-of-current-values-that-do-not/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) ## More by Dorothy Day > [“There was no attack on religion because people were generally indifferent to religion. They were neither hot nor cold. They were the tepid, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/there-was-no-attack-on-religion-because-people-were-generally/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [We must recognize the fact that many Nazis, Marxists and Fascists believe passionately in their fundamental rightness, and allow nothing to hinder them from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/we-must-recognize-the-fact-that-many-nazis-marxists-and-fascists/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [“Now don't think I've lost my mind - but I'll tell you, I'll look at some of the cards I have, some of Van…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/now-don-t-think-i-ve-lost-my-mind-but-i-ll-tell-you-i-ll-look-at-some/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [The Sexual Revolution is a complete rebellion against authority, natural and supernatural, even against the body and its needs, its natural functions of child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/the-sexual-revolution-is-a-complete-rebellion-against-authority/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [Idealism in the young, I guess I'm saying, is curiosity as well as goodness trying to express itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/idealism-in-the-young-i-guess-i-m-saying-is-curiosity-as-well-as/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [Voluntary poverty isn't going around with some burlap bag around you and imitating the poor. It means being indifferent to the material, doing as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/voluntary-poverty-isn-t-going-around-with-some-burlap-bag-around-you/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [Women think with their whole bodies and they see things as a whole more than men do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/women-think-with-their-whole-bodies-and-they-see-things-as-a-whole/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [My whole life so far, my whole experience has been that our failure has been not to love enough. This conviction brought me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/my-whole-life-so-far-my-whole-experience-has-been-that-our-failure/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [I think one of the things we must constantly keep in mind is, 'If anybody hits you on one cheek, turn the other.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/i-think-one-of-the-things-we-must-constantly-keep-in-mind-is-if/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [It is only through religion that communism can be achieved, and has been achieved over and over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/it-is-only-through-religion-that-communism-can-be-achieved-and-has/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [The Communists in Cuba didn't assist Castro in his revolution. They weren't on the side of the students. They didn't do anything to help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/the-communists-in-cuba-didn-t-assist-castro-in-his-revolution-they/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [Dear God, please enlarge our hearts to love each other, to love our neighbor, to love our enemy as well as our friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/dear-god-please-enlarge-our-hearts-to-love-each-other-to-love-our/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [A conversion is a lonely experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/a-conversion-is-a-lonely-experience/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [The sense is always that community is natural to people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/the-sense-is-always-that-community-is-natural-to-people/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [“We must practice the presence of God. He said that when two or three are gathered together, there he is in the midst of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/we-must-practice-the-presence-of-god-he-said-that-when-two-or-three/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) [Explore all 220 Dorothy Day quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) ## More Aggression quotes > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I used to fight with hate. There's been a lot of aggression in my past growing up and stuff. That's because I was hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-namajunas/i-used-to-fight-with-hate-there-s-been-a-lot-of-aggression-in-my-past/) [Rose Namajunas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-namajunas/) > [We have nothing in our history or position to invite aggression; we have everything to beckon us to the cultivation of relations of peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-have-nothing-in-our-history-or-position-to-invite-aggression-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I take up the standpoint that the tendency to aggression is an innate, independent, instinctual disposition in man, and I come back now to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/i-take-up-the-standpoint-that-the-tendency-to-aggression-is-an-innate/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [Boxing can be so important to young people, it keeps you off the street and you can channel your energy and aggression in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-benn/boxing-can-be-so-important-to-young-people-it-keeps-you-off-the/) [Nigel Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-benn/) > [“That which is of great value cannot be attained through aggression. You will be able to find the mystery of life only if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osho/that-which-is-of-great-value-cannot-be-attained-through-aggression/) [Osho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osho/) > [A society that presumes a norm of violence and celebrates aggression, whether in the subway, on the football field, or in the conduct of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/a-society-that-presumes-a-norm-of-violence-and-celebrates-aggression/) [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) > [I can remember watching MTV Cribs - these amazing houses - and looking around my house where there was no carpet on the floors.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bugzy-malone/i-can-remember-watching-mtv-cribs-these-amazing-houses-and-looking/) [Bugzy Malone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bugzy-malone/) > [Nationalism, on my opinion, is nothing more than an idealistic rationalization for militarism and aggression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/nationalism-on-my-opinion-is-nothing-more-than-an-idealistic/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I really like battle ropes. They're so versatile; you can get a terrific workout doing a ton of different exercises with them. My clients…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunnar-peterson/i-really-like-battle-ropes-they-re-so-versatile-you-can-get-a/) [Gunnar Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunnar-peterson/) > [ Now they \[the Powers\] have started the aggression, and the extinction of our nation is imminent. If we just fold our arms and yield… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/empress-dowager-cixi/now-they-the-powers-have-started-the-aggression-and-the-extinction-of/) Empress Dowager Cixi > [I'm not going to appeal to violence or aggression - of course not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexei-navalny/i-m-not-going-to-appeal-to-violence-or-aggression-of-course-not/) [Alexei Navalny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexei-navalny/) > [This is passive-aggression in action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/this-is-passive-aggression-in-action/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [When a child hits a child, we call it aggression. When a child hits an adult, we call it hostility. When an adult hits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-a-child-hits-a-child-we-call-it-aggression-when-a-child-hits-an/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Major international interventions are doomed unless the US is directly or indirectly involved. But if American politicians, officials and servicemen are to be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/major-international-interventions-are-doomed-unless-the-us-is/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) [Browse all 860 Aggression quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aggression/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I can write no other than this: unless we use the weapons of the spirit, denying ourselves and taking up our cross and following Jesus, dying with Him and rising with Him, men will go on fighting, and often from the highest motives, believing that they are fighting defensive wars for justice and in self-defense against present or future aggression.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dorothy Day" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/i-can-write-no-other-than-this-unless-we-use-the-weapons-of-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Aggression" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/i-can-write-no-other-than-this-unless-we-use-the-weapons-of-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c6/dorothy-day-1629_aggression_i-can-write-no-other-than-this-unless-we_1452680.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c6/dorothy-day-1629_aggression_i-can-write-no-other-than-this-unless-we_1452680.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c6/dorothy-day-1629_aggression_i-can-write-no-other-than-this-unless-we_1452680.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I can write no other than this: unless we use the weapons of the spirit, denying ourselves and taking up our…” — Dorothy Day", "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": "Dorothy Day", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I can write no other than...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/i-can-write-no-other-than-this-unless-we-use-the-weapons-of-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/i-can-write-no-other-than-this-unless-we-use-the-weapons-of-the/#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 } } ] } ```