--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No one is wise enough, no nation is…" description: "\"No one is wise enough, no nation is important enough, no human interest is precious enough, to justify the wholesale destruction and murder which const..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70a/john-haynes-holmes-40348_destruction_no-one-is-wise-enough-no-nation-is-impor_2936508.jpg" --- # No one is wise enough, no nation is important enough, no… ![“No one is wise enough, no nation is important enough, no human interest is precious enough, to justify the wholesale destruction and murder which constitute the science of war.” quote by John Haynes Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70a/john-haynes-holmes-40348_destruction_no-one-is-wise-enough-no-nation-is-impor_2936508.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70a/john-haynes-holmes-40348_destruction_no-one-is-wise-enough-no-nation-is-impor_2936508.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70a/john-haynes-holmes-40348_destruction_no-one-is-wise-enough-no-nation-is-impor_2936508.jpg) > “No one is wise enough, no nation is important enough, no human interest is precious enough, to justify the wholesale destruction and murder which constitute the science of war.” [John Haynes Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-haynes-holmes/) ## 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 massive destruction cannot be justified by any moral or national interest; peace must be pursued. **In simple terms:** War is never justified. Key Takeaway Prioritize peace over conflict. Themes peace war morality Mood serious determined Type philosophical political When to use this quote - international policy - military decision making - public discourse Key Concepts ethical philosophy human rights Questions to Reflect On - What alternatives exist to violent conflict? - How can societies value human life over power? A Different Perspective Some argue war can be defensive or necessary. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Destruction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destruction/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Murder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/murder/) [Nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nations/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise/) ## Related quotes > [Through the wholesale destruction of the representatives of a class that from the beginning of history had been the directing and creative force in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-adams-cram/through-the-wholesale-destruction-of-the-representatives-of-a-class/) [Ralph Adams Cram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-adams-cram/) > [The cause of liberty becomes a mockery if the price to be paid is the wholesale destruction of those who are to enjoy liberty.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-cause-of-liberty-becomes-a-mockery-if-the-price-to-be-paid-is-the/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [There is a science of war, but how strange that there isn't a science of peace. 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Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [The French nation is more important than football.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugo-lloris/the-french-nation-is-more-important-than-football/) [Hugo Lloris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugo-lloris/) > [Well, you know, I think in conversations with members of the Senate and others, they all recognize that the issue of immigration is important.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-napolitano/well-you-know-i-think-in-conversations-with-members-of-the-senate-and/) [Janet Napolitano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-napolitano/) > [I believe prayer for our nation has never been more important as we witness an accelerating anti-Christian fervor in the so-called mainstream of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-falwell/i-believe-prayer-for-our-nation-has-never-been-more-important-as-we/) [Jonathan Falwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-falwell/) > [The traditions of a nation are very important and the anthem written by Francis Scott Key in the early days of our nation should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-greenwood/the-traditions-of-a-nation-are-very-important-and-the-anthem-written/) [Lee Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-greenwood/) > [Leo Tolstoy, the greatest anti-patriot of our time, defines patriotism as the principle that will justify the training of wholesale murderers; a trade that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/leo-tolstoy-the-greatest-anti-patriot-of-our-time-defines-patriotism/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Although lynchings have steadily increased in number and barbarity during the last twenty years, there has been no single effort put forth by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/although-lynchings-have-steadily-increased-in-number-and-barbarity/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [We need to ask ourselves a question: Do we trust God? Is he not the same yesterday, today, and forever? And if he is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-shea/we-need-to-ask-ourselves-a-question-do-we-trust-god-is-he-not-the/) [Matt Shea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-shea/) > [There is nothing more appalling than the wholesale way in which unthinking people plead to the Almighty the richest and most spiritual of His…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-drummond/there-is-nothing-more-appalling-than-the-wholesale-way-in-which/) [William Henry Drummond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-drummond/) ## More by John Haynes Holmes > [Priests are no more necessary to religion than politicians to patriotism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-haynes-holmes/priests-are-no-more-necessary-to-religion-than-politicians-to/) [John Haynes Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-haynes-holmes/) > [Priests are no more necessary to religion than politicians are to patriotism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-haynes-holmes/priests-are-no-more-necessary-to-religion-than-politicians-are-to/) [John Haynes Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-haynes-holmes/) > [When I say 'God' it is poetry and not theology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-haynes-holmes/when-i-say-god-it-is-poetry-and-not-theology/) [John Haynes Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-haynes-holmes/) > [Evil is a fact, not to be explained away, but to be accepted; and accepted, not to be endured, but to be conquered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-haynes-holmes/evil-is-a-fact-not-to-be-explained-away-but-to-be-accepted-and/) [John Haynes Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-haynes-holmes/) > [Religion must be used in furthering great works of justice and reform. It must be used to establish right relations between different groups of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-haynes-holmes/religion-must-be-used-in-furthering-great-works-of-justice-and-reform/) [John Haynes Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-haynes-holmes/) > [Society is always engaged in a vast conspiracy to preserve itself - at the expense of the new demands of each new generation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-haynes-holmes/society-is-always-engaged-in-a-vast-conspiracy-to-preserve-itself-at/) [John Haynes Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-haynes-holmes/) > [The thought of immortality is as well founded as any other well authenticated postulate of the human reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-haynes-holmes/the-thought-of-immortality-is-as-well-founded-as-any-other-well/) [John Haynes Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-haynes-holmes/) > [When I say God it is poetry and not theology. 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There is nothing that the ordinary Christian so dislikes to remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-haynes-holmes/if-christians-were-christians-there-would-be-no-anti-semitism-jesus/) [John Haynes Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-haynes-holmes/) [Explore all 11 John Haynes Holmes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-haynes-holmes/) ## More Destruction quotes > [For not only every democracy, but certainly every republic, bears within itself the seeds of its own destruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-not-only-every-democracy-but-certainly-every-republic-bears/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are no white lies, there is only the blackest of destruction, and a white lie is the blackest of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-are-no-white-lies-there-is-only-the-blackest-of-destruction-and/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [It goes to show you how we in the press so often miss the big stories that are right under our noses. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-goes-to-show-you-how-we-in-the-press-so-often-miss-the-big-stories/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [A time will come when the science of destruction shall bend before the arts of peace; when the genius which multiplies our powers, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/a-time-will-come-when-the-science-of-destruction-shall-bend-before/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [Perhaps the greatest and least visible form of impoverishment caused by the Corporate State is the destruction of community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-a-reich/perhaps-the-greatest-and-least-visible-form-of-impoverishment-caused/) [Charles A. Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-reich/) > [Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/somewhere-somebody-must-have-some-sense-men-must-see-that-force/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Death is but an aspect of life, and the destruction of one material form is but a prelude to building up of another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/death-is-but-an-aspect-of-life-and-the-destruction-of-one-material/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Hundreds of millions of human beings on our planet increasingly suffer from unemployment, poverty, hunger, and the destruction of their families.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-kung/hundreds-of-millions-of-human-beings-on-our-planet-increasingly/) [Hans Kung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-kung/) > [Away with you, water, destruction of wine!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catullus/away-with-you-water-destruction-of-wine/) [Catullus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catullus/) > [Some voluntary castaways there will always be, whom no fostering kindness and no parental care can preserve from self-destruction; but if any are lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southey/some-voluntary-castaways-there-will-always-be-whom-no-fostering/) [Robert Southey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-southey/) > [“You are a lawmaker in your own right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/you-are-a-lawmaker-in-your-own-right/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [ No visiting angel, or explorer from another planet, could have guessed that this bland orb \[Earth\] teemed with vermin, with world-mastering, self-torturing, incipiently angelic… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/no-visiting-angel-or-explorer-from-another-planet-could-have-guessed/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) > [As far as I know, the question of whether and how it could be strategically or morally justified was never the subject of open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-far-as-i-know-the-question-of-whether-and-how-it-could-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Is there some lesson on how to be friends? I think what it means is that central to living a life that is good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rakoff/is-there-some-lesson-on-how-to-be-friends-i-think-what-it-means-is/) [David Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rakoff/) > [“We're on the eve of destruction. Men have lost all sense of honor. Power has become their faith instead of faith being their power.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atiq-rahimi/we-re-on-the-eve-of-destruction-men-have-lost-all-sense-of-honor/) Atiq Rahimi [Browse all 3,161 Destruction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destruction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "No one is wise enough, no nation is important enough, no human interest is precious enough, to justify the wholesale destruction and murder which constitute the science of war.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Haynes Holmes" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-haynes-holmes/no-one-is-wise-enough-no-nation-is-important-enough-no-human-interest/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Destruction" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-haynes-holmes/no-one-is-wise-enough-no-nation-is-important-enough-no-human-interest/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70a/john-haynes-holmes-40348_destruction_no-one-is-wise-enough-no-nation-is-impor_2936508.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70a/john-haynes-holmes-40348_destruction_no-one-is-wise-enough-no-nation-is-impor_2936508.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70a/john-haynes-holmes-40348_destruction_no-one-is-wise-enough-no-nation-is-impor_2936508.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“No one is wise enough, no nation is important enough, no human interest is precious enough, to justify the…” — John Haynes Holmes", "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": "John Haynes Holmes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-haynes-holmes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "No one is wise enough, no...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-haynes-holmes/no-one-is-wise-enough-no-nation-is-important-enough-no-human-interest/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-haynes-holmes/no-one-is-wise-enough-no-nation-is-important-enough-no-human-interest/#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 } } ] } ```