--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: War is sometimes described as long…" description: "\"“War is sometimes described as long periods of boredom punctuated by short moments of excitement. History is often similar, if rather safer.”\" — John H..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b1/john-h-arnold-92180_boredom_war-is-sometimes-described-as-long-perio_603350.jpg" --- # War is sometimes described as long periods of boredom… ![“War is sometimes described as long periods of boredom punctuated by short moments of excitement. History is often similar, if rather safer.” quote by John H. Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b1/john-h-arnold-92180_boredom_war-is-sometimes-described-as-long-perio_603350.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b1/john-h-arnold-92180_boredom_war-is-sometimes-described-as-long-perio_603350.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b1/john-h-arnold-92180_boredom_war-is-sometimes-described-as-long-perio_603350.jpg) > ““War is sometimes described as long periods of boredom punctuated by short moments of excitement. History is often similar, if rather safer.”” [John H. Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-h-arnold/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. War consists of long boredom interspersed with brief excitement; history follows a similar pattern, albeit more safely. **In simple terms:** War and history have long dull periods with short thrills. Key Takeaway Seek meaning beyond fleeting excitement. Themes war history boredom excitement pattern Mood reflective serious Type historical analytical When to use this quote - military analysis - historical study - personal reflection - creative writing Key Concepts sociology military studies temporal dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How does boredom affect morale? - What lessons can history teach about excitement? A Different Perspective May trivialize serious war impacts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Boredom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boredom/) [Boredom Punctuated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boredom-punctuated-1926519/) [Excitement History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excitement-history-4893865/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [History Similar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-similar-4913411/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Short Mom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/short-mom/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [War Described](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war-described-1388615/) ## Related quotes > [Who does not recall school at least in part as endless dreary hours of boredom punctuated by moments of high anxiety?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/who-does-not-recall-school-at-least-in-part-as-endless-dreary-hours/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [“But it was more than that. There was an indefinable ingredient, a kind of excitement. It had something to do with history and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-vine/but-it-was-more-than-that-there-was-an-indefinable-ingredient-a-kind/) [Barbara Vine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-vine/) > [Turning fifty ... is like flying: hours of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/turning-fifty-is-like-flying-hours-of-boredom-punctuated-by-moments/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [“If a military life was long periods of boredom punctuated by moments of stark terror—as one of her instructors had said—then civilian life seemed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-moon/if-a-military-life-was-long-periods-of-boredom-punctuated-by-moments/) [Elizabeth Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-moon/) > [“According to Robert, his friend Moses was a soldier in the first war, as he described it. He fought Indians and soldiers in red…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-b-brewer/according-to-robert-his-friend-moses-was-a-soldier-in-the-first-war/) [Nancy B. Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-b-brewer/) > [“Mr. Nadjafi collected my footage and edited it in ways that cast American troops and American policy in the worst possible light. He rewrote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-lindhout/mr-nadjafi-collected-my-footage-and-edited-it-in-ways-that-cast/) [Amanda Lindhout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-lindhout/) > [War is often described as a law of nature-this is not true: Among the lower animals, war is unknown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/war-is-often-described-as-a-law-of-nature-this-is-not-true-among-the/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [We used to have a War Office, but now we have a Ministry of Defence, nuclear bombs are now described as deterrents, innocent civilians…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/we-used-to-have-a-war-office-but-now-we-have-a-ministry-of-defence/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) > [Im jealous of every girl that ever hugged him because for that very short moment... she held my whole entire world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megannn/im-jealous-of-every-girl-that-ever-hugged-him-because-for-that-very/) [Megannn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megannn/) > [“ You’re…you’re what? Where? ” I stood up and glimpsed myself in the mirror. I was a vision, having changed into satin pajama pants,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ree-drummond/you-re-you-re-what-where-i-stood-up-and-glimpsed-myself-in-the-mirror/) [Ree Drummond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ree-drummond/) > [Short moments are sometimes the most cherished ones..cause it always gives us the thought that it will never happen again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/short-moments-are-sometimes-the-most-cherished-ones-cause-it-always/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Oh, those wonder-filled evenings when acting enables me for a short moment to have more life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liv-ullmann/oh-those-wonder-filled-evenings-when-acting-enables-me-for-a-short/) [Liv Ullmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liv-ullmann/) > [If you distill the essence of everything, what life is about, every single one of us is given a short moment in time on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-newsom/if-you-distill-the-essence-of-everything-what-life-is-about-every/) [Gavin Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-newsom/) > [Quads are very exciting to watch, but they're so quick, and they're very short moments in the program... I don't really enjoy it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-chan/quads-are-very-exciting-to-watch-but-they-re-so-quick-and-they-re/) [Patrick Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-chan/) ## More by John H. Arnold > [“History is above all else an argument. It is an argument between different historians; and, perhaps, an argument between the past and the present,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-h-arnold/history-is-above-all-else-an-argument-it-is-an-argument-between/) [John H. Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-h-arnold/) [Explore all 2 John H. Arnold quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-h-arnold/) ## More Boredom quotes > [I am fairly tired--bored beyond endurance--by the world we live in, and its ideals, and am ready to say so, not violently, but kindly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/i-am-fairly-tired-bored-beyond-endurance-by-the-world-we-live-in-and/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [Life is what you make it¦If one refuses to use ones imagination..it will be boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-what-you-make-it-if-one-refuses-to-use-ones-imagination-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Boredom is vastly underrated. Boredom means that nothing is trying to kill you every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/boredom-is-vastly-underrated-boredom-means-that-nothing-is-trying-to/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [I'm bored of being bored because being bored is very boring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sachithra/i-m-bored-of-being-bored-because-being-bored-is-very-boring/) [Sachithra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sachithra/) > [When people look in the mirror, sometimes they see are their shells in the mirror, nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-people-look-in-the-mirror-sometimes-they-see-are-their-shells-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't think anyone wants to do the same thing over and over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bachmann/i-don-t-think-anyone-wants-to-do-the-same-thing-over-and-over-again/) [Eric Bachmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bachmann/) > [“A car is one of the most interesting inventions, but driving is one of the most boring activities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-car-is-one-of-the-most-interesting-inventions-but-driving-is-one-of/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [The most total opposite of pleasure is not pain but boredom, for we are willing to risk pain to make a boring life interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/the-most-total-opposite-of-pleasure-is-not-pain-but-boredom-for-we/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [We shop out of boredom, for release, for excitement, for a sense of achievement, for a sense of control over our unruly existences. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-gunn/we-shop-out-of-boredom-for-release-for-excitement-for-a-sense-of/) [Tim Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-gunn/) > [That human life must be some kind of mistake is sufficiently proved by the simple observation that man is a compound of needs which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/that-human-life-must-be-some-kind-of-mistake-is-sufficiently-proved/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [Isn’t ‘not to be bored’ one of the principal goals of life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/isn-t-not-to-be-bored-one-of-the-principal-goals-of-life/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [The worst sin, the ultimate sin for me, in anything, is to be bored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-turner/the-worst-sin-the-ultimate-sin-for-me-in-anything-is-to-be-bored/) [Ted Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-turner/) > [Exploitation and manipulation produce boredom and triviality; they cripple man, and all factors that make man into a psychic cripple turn him also into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/exploitation-and-manipulation-produce-boredom-and-triviality-they/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [“To me, at least in retrospect, the really interesting question is why dullness proves to be such a powerful impediment to attention. Why we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/to-me-at-least-in-retrospect-the-really-interesting-question-is-why/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Listen deeply. Meditate on that which is arising. Even if it's boredom or difficulty or maybe a feeling of being stuck, that in itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-yee/listen-deeply-meditate-on-that-which-is-arising-even-if-it-s-boredom/) [Rodney Yee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-yee/) [Browse all 1,505 Boredom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boredom/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“War is sometimes described as long periods of boredom punctuated by short moments of excitement. History is often similar, if rather safer.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John H. 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