--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No catalogue of horrors ever kept men…" description: "\"No catalogue of horrors ever kept men from war. Before the war you always think that it's not you that dies. But you will die, brother, if you go to it..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35c/ernest-hemingway-83_brother_no-catalogue-of-horrors-ever-kept-men-fr_2809307.jpg" --- # No catalogue of horrors ever kept men from war. Before the… ![“No catalogue of horrors ever kept men from war. Before the war you always think that it's not you that dies. But you will die, brother, if you go to it long enough.” quote by Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35c/ernest-hemingway-83_brother_no-catalogue-of-horrors-ever-kept-men-fr_2809307.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35c/ernest-hemingway-83_brother_no-catalogue-of-horrors-ever-kept-men-fr_2809307.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35c/ernest-hemingway-83_brother_no-catalogue-of-horrors-ever-kept-men-fr_2809307.jpg) > “No catalogue of horrors ever kept men from war. Before the war you always think that it's not you that dies. But you will die, brother, if you go to it long enough.” [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. War’s horror cannot deter those who willingly engage; the reality of death becomes inevitable over time. **In simple terms:** War’s horror doesn’t stop those who go. Key Takeaway Recognize the true cost before entering conflict. Themes war humanity mortality Mood somber serious Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - military service - political activism - peace advocacy - historical study Key Concepts literature existentialism Questions to Reflect On - Why do people overlook war’s true cost? - What alternatives exist to conflict? A Different Perspective Romanticizing war obscures its brutality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brother/) [Horror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horror/) [Horrors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horrors/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [It is permissible even for a dying hero to think before he dies how men will speak of him hereafter. His fame lasts perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/it-is-permissible-even-for-a-dying-hero-to-think-before-he-dies-how/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [young or old, good or bad, I don't think anything dies as slow and as hard as a writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/young-or-old-good-or-bad-i-don-t-think-anything-dies-as-slow-and-as/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“As I saw it, a little threatening was a good thing. It kept the men on their toes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-shah/as-i-saw-it-a-little-threatening-was-a-good-thing-it-kept-the-men-on/) [Tahir Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahir-shah/) > [I've lost a lot of teeth and square yards of hide. But I've never lost my self-respect, and I've kept what I find in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabbit-maranville/i-ve-lost-a-lot-of-teeth-and-square-yards-of-hide-but-i-ve-never-lost/) [Rabbit Maranville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabbit-maranville/) > [I never agree with Communists or any other kind of kept men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/i-never-agree-with-communists-or-any-other-kind-of-kept-men/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [Arms alone are not enough to keep the peace. It must be kept by men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/arms-alone-are-not-enough-to-keep-the-peace-it-must-be-kept-by-men/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [“Within months, Ray Quinn had died, but he'd kept his word. He'd kept it through the three men he'd made his sons. Those men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/within-months-ray-quinn-had-died-but-he-d-kept-his-word-he-d-kept-it/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [No one that has ever been in combat ever wants to see war anywhere in the world. It is horrible. It's horrible looking at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-shea/no-one-that-has-ever-been-in-combat-ever-wants-to-see-war-anywhere-in/) [Matt Shea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-shea/) > [I don't like war. I particularly don't like the celebration of war, which I think the administration is a little bit guilty of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/i-don-t-like-war-i-particularly-don-t-like-the-celebration-of-war/) [Neil Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-young/) > [“The natural state of man is war. I think that peace is an interval for preparation.” The novel is significant because”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-e-ricks-2/the-natural-state-of-man-is-war-i-think-that-peace-is-an-interval-for/) [Thomas E. Ricks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-e-ricks-2/) > [Not all the treasures of the world, so far as I believe, could have induced me to support an offensive war, for I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/not-all-the-treasures-of-the-world-so-far-as-i-believe-could-have/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [“Pop takes a sip of coffee and puts it next to his iPad mini, which is only used for mah jong and some game…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurelin-paige/pop-takes-a-sip-of-coffee-and-puts-it-next-to-his-ipad-mini-which-is/) [Laurelin Paige](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurelin-paige/) > [What ultimately happened is that my country had a war. I think it would be extraordinary, as a writer, not to want to write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aminatta-forna/what-ultimately-happened-is-that-my-country-had-a-war-i-think-it/) [Aminatta Forna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aminatta-forna/) > [“We are men, fighting God's war. Do you think it strange?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raev-gray/we-are-men-fighting-god-s-war-do-you-think-it-strange/) Raev Gray > [ We went to America a few times and \[Brian\] Epstein always tried to waffle on at us about saying nothing about Vietnam. So there… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennon/we-went-to-america-a-few-times-and-brian-epstein-always-tried-to/) [John Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennon/) ## More by Ernest Hemingway > [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/) > [“There was no wind, and, outside now of the warm air of the cave, heavy with smoke of both tobacco and charcoal, with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/there-was-no-wind-and-outside-now-of-the-warm-air-of-the-cave-heavy/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“It was not brilliant bull-fighting. It was only perfect bull-fighting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/it-was-not-brilliant-bull-fighting-it-was-only-perfect-bull-fighting/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [One cat just leads to another. The place is so damned big it doesn't really seem as though there were many cats until you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/one-cat-just-leads-to-another-the-place-is-so-damned-big-it-doesn-t/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Creation's probably overrated. After all, God made the world in only six days and rested on the seventh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/creation-s-probably-overrated-after-all-god-made-the-world-in-only/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“Viva my husband who was Mayor of this town”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/viva-my-husband-who-was-mayor-of-this-town/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“The earth gets tired of being exploited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-earth-gets-tired-of-being-exploited/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [What is moral is what you feel good after, and what is immoral is what you feel bad after.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/what-is-moral-is-what-you-feel-good-after-and-what-is-immoral-is-what/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“We drove out along the coast road. There was the green of the headlands, the white, red-roofed villas, patches of forest, and the ocean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/we-drove-out-along-the-coast-road-there-was-the-green-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [As a Nobel Prize winner I cannot but regret that the award was never given to Mark Twain, nor to Henry James, speaking only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/as-a-nobel-prize-winner-i-cannot-but-regret-that-the-award-was-never/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Oh, darling, I've been so miserable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/oh-darling-i-ve-been-so-miserable/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [I read my own books sometimes to cheer me when it is hard to write, and then I remember that it was always difficult,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-read-my-own-books-sometimes-to-cheer-me-when-it-is-hard-to-write/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“You find everything on earth at Harry's." "Yes, my Colonel. Except, possibly, happiness." "I'll damn well find happiness, too," the Colonel assured him. "Happiness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/you-find-everything-on-earth-at-harry-s-yes-my-colonel-except/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“No. It's bad for me. Cole Porter wrote the words and the music. This knowledge that you're going mad for me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/no-it-s-bad-for-me-cole-porter-wrote-the-words-and-the-music-this/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“everything kills everything else in some way. Fishing kills me exactly as it keeps me alive. The boy keeps me alive, he thought. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/everything-kills-everything-else-in-some-way-fishing-kills-me-exactly/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) [Explore all 1,464 Ernest Hemingway quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) ## More Brother quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Whatever meaning 'Annie's Song' had for me on a personal level, there was also a larger context. It could just as easily have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-denver/whatever-meaning-annie-s-song-had-for-me-on-a-personal-level-there/) [John Denver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-denver/) > [Luckily, the bullet that hit my chest never got to me. It was stopped by a silver case I got for my brother's wedding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-doohan/luckily-the-bullet-that-hit-my-chest-never-got-to-me-it-was-stopped/) [James Doohan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-doohan/) > [“Yeah. You treat him like a son or a soldier, instead of like a brother. He wants you to like him and admire him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faith-hunter/yeah-you-treat-him-like-a-son-or-a-soldier-instead-of-like-a-brother/) [Faith Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faith-hunter/) > [“Your relationship with your brother will be, in many ways, the most complex and bewildering of all the interpersonal connections you will form. An…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-currie-jr/your-relationship-with-your-brother-will-be-in-many-ways-the-most/) [Ron Currie Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-currie-jr/) > [If I had my brothers I think with just a little bit of the correct marketing, I'd like to be almost exclusively in small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bozzio/if-i-had-my-brothers-i-think-with-just-a-little-bit-of-the-correct/) [Terry Bozzio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bozzio/) > [There's no publicist, no advertisements, and no one's pushing us. If people are buying our records, it's because big brothers and sisters or friends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-moody/there-s-no-publicist-no-advertisements-and-no-one-s-pushing-us-if/) Spencer Moody > [The only way to make sure that the Hand didn't get to you would have been to kill your brother. I could've done it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/the-only-way-to-make-sure-that-the-hand-didn-t-get-to-you-would-have/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [“Your favorite son and brother, Shade. Like”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-aveyard/your-favorite-son-and-brother-shade-like/) [Victoria Aveyard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-aveyard/) > [Sister + brother = a lovely family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sister-brother-a-lovely-family/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There ain't no such thing as black Muslims. That's how they tried to cut off all my brothers in the rest of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/there-ain-t-no-such-thing-as-black-muslims-that-s-how-they-tried-to/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [Brothers and Sisters, I bid you beware Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/brothers-and-sisters-i-bid-you-beware-of-giving-your-heart-to-a-dog/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [Like a child exploring the attic of an old house on a rainy day, discovering a trunk full of treasure and then calling all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/like-a-child-exploring-the-attic-of-an-old-house-on-a-rainy-day/) [Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/) > [Stephanie could see the greed seep into the watery eyes of her father’s other brother, a horrible little man called Fergus, as he nodded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-landy/stephanie-could-see-the-greed-seep-into-the-watery-eyes-of-her-father/) [Derek Landy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-landy/) > [I worked in a barbershop. I used to make the waves in the brother's hair, you know? Like, Nat King Cole, Sugar Ray Robinson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clinton/i-worked-in-a-barbershop-i-used-to-make-the-waves-in-the-brother-s/) [George Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clinton/) [Browse all 7,453 Brother quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brother/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "No catalogue of horrors ever kept men from war. Before the war you always think that it's not you that dies. But you will die, brother, if you go to it long enough.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ernest Hemingway" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/no-catalogue-of-horrors-ever-kept-men-from-war-before-the-war-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Brother" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/no-catalogue-of-horrors-ever-kept-men-from-war-before-the-war-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35c/ernest-hemingway-83_brother_no-catalogue-of-horrors-ever-kept-men-fr_2809307.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35c/ernest-hemingway-83_brother_no-catalogue-of-horrors-ever-kept-men-fr_2809307.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35c/ernest-hemingway-83_brother_no-catalogue-of-horrors-ever-kept-men-fr_2809307.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“No catalogue of horrors ever kept men from war. Before the war you always think that it's not you that dies…” — Ernest Hemingway", "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": "Ernest Hemingway", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "No catalogue of horrors ever kept...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/no-catalogue-of-horrors-ever-kept-men-from-war-before-the-war-you/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/no-catalogue-of-horrors-ever-kept-men-from-war-before-the-war-you/#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 } } ] } ```