--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In order to overcome the spirit that…" description: "\"In order to overcome the spirit that creates war, mothers must begin in the tender years of childhood to teach children that right must be the foundati..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b9/ellen-key-6012_childhood_in-order-to-overcome-the-spirit-that-cre_763965.png" --- # In order to overcome the spirit that creates war, mothers… ![“In order to overcome the spirit that creates war, mothers must begin in the tender years of childhood to teach children that right must be the foundation of all might, that authority can be exercised without the help of fists.” quote by Ellen Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b9/ellen-key-6012_childhood_in-order-to-overcome-the-spirit-that-cre_763965.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b9/ellen-key-6012_childhood_in-order-to-overcome-the-spirit-that-cre_763965.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b9/ellen-key-6012_childhood_in-order-to-overcome-the-spirit-that-cre_763965.png) > “In order to overcome the spirit that creates war, mothers must begin in the tender years of childhood to teach children that right must be the foundation of all might, that authority can be exercised without the help of fists.” [Ellen Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-key/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Teaching children moral foundations early prevents violent authority and promotes peaceful power. **In simple terms:** Teach right over might early. Key Takeaway Instill moral values in kids. Themes peace education authority violence childhood Mood hopeful determined Type ethical inspirational When to use this quote - parenting - school curricula - community programs Key Concepts moral development nonviolence socialization Questions to Reflect On - How can societies embed nonviolent authority in daily life? - What role do parents play in shaping future leaders? A Different Perspective Children may resist moral lessons if not modeled by adults. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Help](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/help/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Mothers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mothers/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [I am convinced that every effort must be made in childhood to teach the young to use their own minds. 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Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [Most men are secretly still mad at their mothers for throwing away their comic books. They would be valuable now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-rudner/most-men-are-secretly-still-mad-at-their-mothers-for-throwing-away/) [Rita Rudner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-rudner/) > [The world needs our mothers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liya-kebede/the-world-needs-our-mothers/) [Liya Kebede](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liya-kebede/) > [“Time plays tricks on mothers. It teases you with breaks and brief caesuras, only to skip wildly forward, bringing breathtaking changes to your baby's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ozeki/time-plays-tricks-on-mothers-it-teases-you-with-breaks-and-brief/) [Ruth Ozeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ozeki/) > [We never think that our mothers will die. It was like suddenly an abyss opened at my feet - I was standing on nothing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/we-never-think-that-our-mothers-will-die-it-was-like-suddenly-an/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) ## More by Ellen Key > [The art of natural education consists in ignoring the faults of children nine times out of ten, in avoiding immediate interference, which is usually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-key/the-art-of-natural-education-consists-in-ignoring-the-faults-of/) [Ellen Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-key/) > [The present practice is to impress one's own discoveries, opinions and principles on the child by constantly directing his actions. The last thing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-key/the-present-practice-is-to-impress-one-s-own-discoveries-opinions-and/) [Ellen Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-key/) > [All philanthropy ... is only a savory fumigation burning at the mouth of a sewer. This incense offering makes the air more endurable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-key/all-philanthropy-is-only-a-savory-fumigation-burning-at-the-mouth-of/) [Ellen Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-key/) > [Great love, like great genius, can never be a duty: both are life's gracious gifts to its elect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-key/great-love-like-great-genius-can-never-be-a-duty-both-are-life-s/) [Ellen Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-key/) > [War can be prevented only by broad-minded statesmanship - a statesmanship that understands how to enlist people's interests in a leading cause.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-key/war-can-be-prevented-only-by-broad-minded-statesmanship-a/) [Ellen Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-key/) > [When it comes to the application to life of existing laws and morals, woman, because of her willing receptiveness, her elasticity and adaptability combined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-key/when-it-comes-to-the-application-to-life-of-existing-laws-and-morals/) [Ellen Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-key/) > [The married woman as family provider beside the man, often also in place of the man, but always however subservient to the man's dominion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-key/the-married-woman-as-family-provider-beside-the-man-often-also-in/) [Ellen Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-key/) > [Socialism and the woman movement are two mighty streams which drag along with them great parts of the firm formations which they touch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-key/socialism-and-the-woman-movement-are-two-mighty-streams-which-drag/) [Ellen Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-key/) > [Formerly, a nation that broke the peace, did not trouble to try and prove to the world that it was done solely from higher…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-key/formerly-a-nation-that-broke-the-peace-did-not-trouble-to-try-and/) [Ellen Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-key/) > [When, in any ethical department, unity is attained between outer demands and inner desires, between nature and conscience, between the needs of society and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-key/when-in-any-ethical-department-unity-is-attained-between-outer/) [Ellen Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-key/) > [One day we were brought into the world, knowing love only as being what we had for our toys, family, and friends. Then, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-key/one-day-we-were-brought-into-the-world-knowing-love-only-as-being/) [Ellen Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-key/) > [The genius of happiness is still so rare. To possess it means to approach life with the humility of a beggar, but to treat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-key/the-genius-of-happiness-is-still-so-rare-to-possess-it-means-to/) [Ellen Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-key/) > [The home was a closed sphere touched only at its edge by the world's evolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-key/the-home-was-a-closed-sphere-touched-only-at-its-edge-by-the-world-s/) [Ellen Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-key/) > [Children must be impressed with the fact that the greatest heroes are those who fight to help others, not those who fight for power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-key/children-must-be-impressed-with-the-fact-that-the-greatest-heroes-are/) [Ellen Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-key/) > [Social motherliness has made women's struggle for liberty the loveliest synthesis of egoism and altruism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-key/social-motherliness-has-made-women-s-struggle-for-liberty-the/) [Ellen Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-key/) [Explore all 100 Ellen Key quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-key/) ## More Childhood quotes > [“Children's lives are always beginning and adults' lives are always ending. 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Foster homes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-shamrock/i-had-a-rough-upbringing-group-homes-foster-homes/) [Frank Shamrock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-shamrock/) > [When I talk about my childhood I used to say it as if it was scripted and I'd make jokes because it was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-katona/when-i-talk-about-my-childhood-i-used-to-say-it-as-if-it-was-scripted/) [Kerry Katona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-katona/) > [Every man remembers his childhood as a kind of mythical age, just as every nation's childhood is its mythical age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/every-man-remembers-his-childhood-as-a-kind-of-mythical-age-just-as/) [Giacomo Leopardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-leopardi/) > [It's a very familiar type of place where people either go to their house on the lake or they get together in different places.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-carell/it-s-a-very-familiar-type-of-place-where-people-either-go-to-their/) [Steve Carell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-carell/) > [Ideal for the child and society in the best of times, Rudolf Steiner's brilliant process of education is critically needed and profoundly relevant now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-chilton-pearce/ideal-for-the-child-and-society-in-the-best-of-times-rudolf-steiner-s/) [Joseph Chilton Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-chilton-pearce/) > [Downstairs in my house, I have a museum room. I keep all of my awards down there, and childhood photos, and even all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-kelly/downstairs-in-my-house-i-have-a-museum-room-i-keep-all-of-my-awards/) [R. Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-kelly/) > [Childhood is Last Chance Gulch for happiness. After that, you know too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/childhood-is-last-chance-gulch-for-happiness-after-that-you-know-too/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [On paper, it looks rough, but I had a great childhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-morton/on-paper-it-looks-rough-but-i-had-a-great-childhood/) [Samantha Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-morton/) > [Let positive, strong, helpful thoughts enter into your brains from very childhood. Lay yourselves open to these thoughts, and not to weakening and paralysing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/let-positive-strong-helpful-thoughts-enter-into-your-brains-from-very/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [I always knew that I was kind of bored; the regular life of a child didn't fit me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-ricci/i-always-knew-that-i-was-kind-of-bored-the-regular-life-of-a-child/) [Christina Ricci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-ricci/) > [Children are not a zoo of entertainingly exotic creatures, but an array of mirrors in which the human predicament leaps out at us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/children-are-not-a-zoo-of-entertainingly-exotic-creatures-but-an/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I'm not sure I would have ever started to draw, let alone write, if my childhood hadn't been so happy. It was a mixture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tove-jansson/i-m-not-sure-i-would-have-ever-started-to-draw-let-alone-write-if-my/) [Tove Jansson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-jansson/) [Browse all 5,837 Childhood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In order to overcome the spirit that creates war, mothers must begin in the tender years of childhood to teach children that right must be the foundation of all might, that authority can be exercised without the help of fists.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ellen Key" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-key/in-order-to-overcome-the-spirit-that-creates-war-mothers-must-begin/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Childhood" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-key/in-order-to-overcome-the-spirit-that-creates-war-mothers-must-begin/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b9/ellen-key-6012_childhood_in-order-to-overcome-the-spirit-that-cre_763965.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b9/ellen-key-6012_childhood_in-order-to-overcome-the-spirit-that-cre_763965.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b9/ellen-key-6012_childhood_in-order-to-overcome-the-spirit-that-cre_763965.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In order to overcome the spirit that creates war, mothers must begin in the tender years of childhood to…” — Ellen Key", "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": "Ellen Key", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-key/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In order to overcome the spirit...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-key/in-order-to-overcome-the-spirit-that-creates-war-mothers-must-begin/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-key/in-order-to-overcome-the-spirit-that-creates-war-mothers-must-begin/#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 } } ] } ```