--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: War isn't hell. War is war, and Hell is…" description: "\"“War isn't hell. War is war, and Hell is hell, and not the two, war is a lot worse.”\" — M*A*S*H Captain B. F. Peirce" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/479/m-a-s-h-captain-b-f-peirce-258_hell_war-isn-t-hell-war-is-war-and-hell-is-he_1527632.jpg" --- # War isn't hell. War is war, and Hell is hell, and not the… ![“War isn't hell. War is war, and Hell is hell, and not the two, war is a lot worse.” quote by M*A*S*H Captain B. F. Peirce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/479/m-a-s-h-captain-b-f-peirce-258_hell_war-isn-t-hell-war-is-war-and-hell-is-he_1527632.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/479/m-a-s-h-captain-b-f-peirce-258_hell_war-isn-t-hell-war-is-war-and-hell-is-he_1527632.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/479/m-a-s-h-captain-b-f-peirce-258_hell_war-isn-t-hell-war-is-war-and-hell-is-he_1527632.jpg) > ““War isn't hell. War is war, and Hell is hell, and not the two, war is a lot worse.”” M\*A\*S\*H Captain B. F. Peirce ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. War is more terrible than hell; both are horrific, but war surpasses even hell in suffering. **In simple terms:** War exceeds hell in suffering. Key Takeaway Acknowledge war's extreme horror. Themes war hell human suffering conflict morality Mood somber thoughtful Type Hell:1 Peace:0 War:1 War Hell:1 Hell Hell:0 Hell War:0 Isn Hell:0 When to use this quote - military service - peace advocacy - historical analysis Key Concepts ethical philosophy psychology of trauma war studies Questions to Reflect On - How does war uniquely affect societies? - Can any experience be worse than war? A Different Perspective Comparisons may oversimplify distinct horrors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [Peace is only better than war when it's not hell too. War being hell makes sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/peace-is-only-better-than-war-when-it-s-not-hell-too-war-being-hell/) [Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/) > [“War is hell and waiting is hell and war is waiting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-burana/war-is-hell-and-waiting-is-hell-and-war-is-waiting/) [lily burana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-burana/) > [War is war and Hell is hell, and if you ask me, War is a lot worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-alda/war-is-war-and-hell-is-hell-and-if-you-ask-me-war-is-a-lot-worse/) [Alan Alda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-alda/) > [If war was hell and only hell and there were no other colors in the palate I don't think people would continue to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-herr/if-war-was-hell-and-only-hell-and-there-were-no-other-colors-in-the/) [Michael Herr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-herr/) > [“If it isn't hell, it's at least purgatory.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-krys/if-it-isn-t-hell-it-s-at-least-purgatory/) [Michelle Krys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-krys/) > [“This isn't Hell, it's the Nightside. Thought sometime you can see Hell from here.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-r-green/this-isn-t-hell-it-s-the-nightside-thought-sometime-you-can-see-hell/) [Simon R. Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-r-green/) > [Surprising as it may seem, norms matter, even in the hell that is war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zeynep-tufekci/surprising-as-it-may-seem-norms-matter-even-in-the-hell-that-is-war/) [Zeynep Tufekci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zeynep-tufekci/) > [“What the hell war isn’t unpopular?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-eyman/what-the-hell-war-isn-t-unpopular/) [Scott Eyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-eyman/) > [“There is hell and there is war. The two are difficult to distinguish, but hopefully you’ll never know the sting of either. That’s why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-domet/there-is-hell-and-there-is-war-the-two-are-difficult-to-distinguish/) [Sarah Domet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-domet/) > [The will is that which has all power; it makes heaven and it makes hell: for there is no hell but where the will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-law/the-will-is-that-which-has-all-power-it-makes-heaven-and-it-makes/) [William Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-law/) > [“There is no Hell Hell is Earth itself And the busy, innocently fraud beings They are my demons themselves”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jomia-ann-e-pangilinan-darkness-and-gratitude/there-is-no-hell-hell-is-earth-itself-and-the-busy-innocently-fraud/) Jomia Ann E. Pangilinan Darkness and Gratitude > [“The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heav’n of hell, a hell of heaven. MILTON”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-rivers/the-mind-is-its-own-place-and-in-itself-can-make-a-heav-n-of-hell-a/) [Francine Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-rivers/) > [“No, there are no special places in hell. Hell is a democracy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-carey/no-there-are-no-special-places-in-hell-hell-is-a-democracy/) [Mike Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-carey/) > [“All Hell is smaller than one pebble of your earthly world: but it is smaller than one atom of this world, the Real World.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/all-hell-is-smaller-than-one-pebble-of-your-earthly-world-but-it-is/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“What the hell do you know about what we lost?! You think we had it easy? That we had it better than you? That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-remender/what-the-hell-do-you-know-about-what-we-lost-you-think-we-had-it-easy/) [Rick Remender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-remender/) ## More Hell quotes > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [Some people give you that motivation to work harder simply to get the hell away from wherever they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/some-people-give-you-that-motivation-to-work-harder-simply-to-get-the/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [“God hates Hell. He hates the idea of people going there. He hates it so much that He was willing to take on human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-minton/god-hates-hell-he-hates-the-idea-of-people-going-there-he-hates-it-so/) [Evan Minton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-minton/) > [“Hell is only loneliness, a place without play for the soul, a place without God. How could there be God in loneliness when God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-thayer-hamann/hell-is-only-loneliness-a-place-without-play-for-the-soul-a-place/) [Hilary Thayer Hamann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-thayer-hamann/) > [Just when I thought that I was gtting better, boy was I wrong.. Things just turned to hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cupecake/just-when-i-thought-that-i-was-gtting-better-boy-was-i-wrong-things/) Cupecake > [I believe that on any trip to heaven, there are always detours through hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-finney/i-believe-that-on-any-trip-to-heaven-there-are-always-detours-through/) [Richard Finney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-finney/) > [Every saved person this side of heaven owes the gospel to every lost person this side of hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-platt/every-saved-person-this-side-of-heaven-owes-the-gospel-to-every-lost/) [David Platt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-platt/) > [I'm what is known as gradually disintegrating. I don't fear the next world, or anything. I don't fear hell, and I don't look forward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hepburn/i-m-what-is-known-as-gradually-disintegrating-i-don-t-fear-the-next/) [Katharine Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hepburn/) > [Hey...Hey...What's up?. Nothing much, you? Nothing. K!..What the hell was the point of this communication?...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/hey-hey-what-s-up-nothing-much-you-nothing-k-what-the-hell-was-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ Except in these latter-day songs, \[Bob\] Dylan is a grizzled old prophet who's already been to hell and back. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/except-in-these-latter-day-songs-bob-dylan-is-a-grizzled-old-prophet/) [Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/) > [...it was a huge creature, luminous, ghastly, and spectral. I have cross-examined these men, one of them a hard-headed countryman, one a farrier, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/it-was-a-huge-creature-luminous-ghastly-and-spectral-i-have-cross/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“ALAS, IF ALL HUMANS WERE WISE AND HAD MORE GOOD WILL THE WORLD WOULD BE A PARADISE NOW IT IS MOSTLY A HELL”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/alas-if-all-humans-were-wise-and-had-more-good-will-the-world-would/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [There's little in taking or giving, There's little in water or wine: This living, this living, this living, Was never a project of mine.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/there-s-little-in-taking-or-giving-there-s-little-in-water-or-wine/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [It is through suppression that hells are formed in us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-glaspell/it-is-through-suppression-that-hells-are-formed-in-us/) [Susan Glaspell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-glaspell/) > [Beware of self-indulgence. The romance surrounding the writing profession carries several myths: that one must suffer in order to be creative; that one must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/beware-of-self-indulgence-the-romance-surrounding-the-writing/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) [Browse all 8,212 Hell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“War isn't hell. War is war, and Hell is hell, and not the two, war is a lot worse.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "M*A*S*H Captain B. F. 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