---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Of course, if there should be war, it…"
description: "\"Of course, if there should be war, it wouldn't last long - not in the twentieth century; and no one wants it. There would be, perhaps, a few skirmishes..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/361/marie-van-vorst-74355_century_of-course-if-there-should-be-war-it-woul_1053221.jpg"
---

#  Of course, if there should be war, it wouldn't last long…

![“Of course, if there should be war, it wouldn't last long - not in the twentieth century; and no one wants it. There would be, perhaps, a few skirmishes on the frontiers, and then everything would be arranged diplomatically.” quote by Marie Van Vorst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/361/marie-van-vorst-74355_century_of-course-if-there-should-be-war-it-woul_1053221.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/361/marie-van-vorst-74355_century_of-course-if-there-should-be-war-it-woul_1053221.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/361/marie-van-vorst-74355_century_of-course-if-there-should-be-war-it-woul_1053221.jpg)

> “Of course, if there should be war, it wouldn't last long - not in the twentieth century; and no one wants it. There would be, perhaps, a few skirmishes on the frontiers, and then everything would be arranged diplomatically.”

Marie Van Vorst

## 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 seen as inevitable but short, with hopes that diplomacy will prevent large‑scale conflict.

**In simple terms:** War is expected but brief, with diplomacy preferred.

Key Takeaway

Seek diplomatic solutions before conflict.

Themes

war diplomacy peace history

Mood

cautious reflective

Type

political historical

When to use this quote

- political negotiations
- international relations
- military planning
- public opinion

Key Concepts

realism deterrence conflict resolution

Questions to Reflect On

- Can diplomacy truly prevent war?
- What factors make wars inevitable?

A Different Perspective

Diplomacy may fail if underlying tensions are ignored.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Frontiers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frontiers/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Twentieth century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twentieth-century/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/)

## Related quotes

> [When I'm president of the United States, we will stand with Israel. And, and if Israel is attacked, we have their back, not just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/when-i-m-president-of-the-united-states-we-will-stand-with-israel-and/)

[Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/)

> [Be polite; write diplomatically; even in a declaration of war one observes the rules of politeness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/be-polite-write-diplomatically-even-in-a-declaration-of-war-one/)

[Otto von Bismarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-von-bismarck/)

> [In the absence of an engaged, diplomatically energized America, others will set the agenda, shape the rules and dominate international institutions - and probably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-blinken/in-the-absence-of-an-engaged-diplomatically-energized-america-others/)

[Antony Blinken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-blinken/)

> [I can look you in the eye and tell you I feel I've tried to solve the problem diplomatically to the max, and would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/i-can-look-you-in-the-eye-and-tell-you-i-feel-i-ve-tried-to-solve-the/)

[George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/)

> [There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be with someone,” I said diplomatically. Unless that person turns your world upside down and makes you lose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/there-s-nothing-wrong-with-wanting-to-be-with-someone-i-said/)

[Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/)

> [The (Iraq) war can only be won diplomatically, politically and economically, and the president needs to come to that realization,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-reid/the-iraq-war-can-only-be-won-diplomatically-politically-and/)

[Harry Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-reid/)

> [“I could kiss you until the world stopped turning and it still wouldn’t be long enough.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-anderson/i-could-kiss-you-until-the-world-stopped-turning-and-it-still-wouldn/)

[Toni Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-anderson/)

> [“Honestly though, I could lay like this, with her in my arms forever, and it still wouldn't be long enough.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mclean/honestly-though-i-could-lay-like-this-with-her-in-my-arms-forever-and/)

[Jay McLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mclean/)

> [“But I knew that I wouldn’t learn the end of our story tonight—and I hoped I wouldn’t, not for a very long time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/but-i-knew-that-i-wouldn-t-learn-the-end-of-our-story-tonight-and-i/)

[James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/)

> [“She hated the predictability of herself, but knew life probably wouldn't be long enough for her to grow out of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/she-hated-the-predictability-of-herself-but-knew-life-probably-wouldn/)

[Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/)

> [“How I wished I had shoulders like his. Maybe I wouldn’t long for them if I had them?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/how-i-wished-i-had-shoulders-like-his-maybe-i-wouldn-t-long-for-them/)

[André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/)

> [“I couldn’t let myself depend on him getting me all hot and bothered so I could sing to the throb between my legs. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-d-reiss/i-couldn-t-let-myself-depend-on-him-getting-me-all-hot-and-bothered/)

[C.D. Reiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-d-reiss/)

> [I wouldn't keep him around long if I didn't feed him well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/i-wouldn-t-keep-him-around-long-if-i-didn-t-feed-him-well/)

[Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/)

> [“No matter the pain, I could take it, because it wouldn’t last very long. Not more than an hour, anyway. And Brock seemed keen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-j-shen/no-matter-the-pain-i-could-take-it-because-it-wouldn-t-last-very-long/)

[L.J. Shen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-j-shen/)

> [“As much as it hurts to admit it, I knew he was right. I would love him with all my heart, but in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-mingle/as-much-as-it-hurts-to-admit-it-i-knew-he-was-right-i-would-love-him/)

Pamela Mingle

## More by Marie Van Vorst

> [More and more, I am beginning to understand why every one who has ever accomplished anything really great and truly beautiful in the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-van-vorst/more-and-more-i-am-beginning-to-understand-why-every-one-who-has-ever/)

Marie Van Vorst

> [The more I see of Italy, the more I adore the Italians. They have so much heart, so much cheerfulness and gaiety, so much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-van-vorst/the-more-i-see-of-italy-the-more-i-adore-the-italians-they-have-so/)

Marie Van Vorst

Explore all 3 Marie Van Vorst quotes

## More Century quotes

> [I know always that I am an outsider; a stranger in this century and among those who are still men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-know-always-that-i-am-an-outsider-a-stranger-in-this-century-and/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [ \[The Dalai Lama\] told me some years ago, "I've made every concession to China, and I've been as open and tolerant as I could,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/the-dalai-lama-told-me-some-years-ago-i-ve-made-every-concession-to/)

[Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/)

> [Anybody looking for a quiet life has picked the wrong century to born in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anybody-looking-for-a-quiet-life-has-picked-the-wrong-century-to-born/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The poetry from the eighteenth century was prose; the prose from the seventeenth century was poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hare/the-poetry-from-the-eighteenth-century-was-prose-the-prose-from-the/)

[David Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hare/)

> [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [Talented people can predict with great accuracy what's about to happen just a tiny bit ahead of their competitors. It might be two seconds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-maney/talented-people-can-predict-with-great-accuracy-what-s-about-to/)

[Kevin Maney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-maney/)

> [The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. Its strains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-world-s-history-is-a-divine-poem-of-which-the-history-of-every/)

[James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/)

> [The nineteenth century lynching mob cuts off ears, toes, and fingers, strips off flesh, and distributes portions of the body as souvenirs among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-nineteenth-century-lynching-mob-cuts-off-ears-toes-and-fingers/)

[Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/)

> [At no time in the past century has public distrust of the government been so broadly distributed across the political spectrum, as it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-zimmermann/at-no-time-in-the-past-century-has-public-distrust-of-the-government/)

[Phil Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-zimmermann/)

> [While husbands and lovers in the stories are of all kinds, ranging from sympathetic to disgusting, women are invariably deceivers: inconstant, unscrupulous, quarrelsome, querulous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/while-husbands-and-lovers-in-the-stories-are-of-all-kinds-ranging/)

[Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/)

> [The young people today are the 21st century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-scorsese/the-young-people-today-are-the-21st-century/)

[Martin Scorsese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-scorsese/)

> [The wisdom of our actions in the first three years of peace will determine the course of world history for half a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-wallace/the-wisdom-of-our-actions-in-the-first-three-years-of-peace-will/)

[Henry A. Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-wallace/)

> [For me, the melancholy of the late XXth Century is walking late at night by the Mont Blanc pen store and seeing these things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/for-me-the-melancholy-of-the-late-xxth-century-is-walking-late-at/)

[William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/)

> [In a general way, the literature of the twentieth century is essentially psychological; and psychology consists of describing states of the soul by displaying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/in-a-general-way-the-literature-of-the-twentieth-century-is/)

[Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/)

> [Consequently, citizen legislators, rotating back to their communities after a short period of public service—considered an indispensable and routine characteristic and design of representative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/consequently-citizen-legislators-rotating-back-to-their-communities/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

Browse all 5,406 Century quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Of course, if there should be war, it wouldn't last long - not in the twentieth century; and no one wants it. There would be, perhaps, a few skirmishes on the frontiers, and then everything would be arranged diplomatically.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Marie Van Vorst"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-van-vorst/of-course-if-there-should-be-war-it-wouldn-t-last-long-not-in-the/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Century"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-van-vorst/of-course-if-there-should-be-war-it-wouldn-t-last-long-not-in-the/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/361/marie-van-vorst-74355_century_of-course-if-there-should-be-war-it-woul_1053221.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/361/marie-van-vorst-74355_century_of-course-if-there-should-be-war-it-woul_1053221.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/361/marie-van-vorst-74355_century_of-course-if-there-should-be-war-it-woul_1053221.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Of course, if there should be war, it wouldn't last long - not in the twentieth century; and no one wants…” — Marie Van Vorst",
                "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": "Marie Van Vorst",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-van-vorst/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Of course, if there should be...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-van-vorst/of-course-if-there-should-be-war-it-wouldn-t-last-long-not-in-the/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-van-vorst/of-course-if-there-should-be-war-it-wouldn-t-last-long-not-in-the/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
