--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There's nothing so much like a god on…" description: "\"There's nothing so much like a god on earth as a General on a battlefield.\" — Michael Shaara" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bf/michael-shaara-13044_battlefield_there-s-nothing-so-much-like-a-god-on-ea_1595293.png" --- # There's nothing so much like a god on earth as a General… ![“There's nothing so much like a god on earth as a General on a battlefield.” quote by Michael Shaara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bf/michael-shaara-13044_battlefield_there-s-nothing-so-much-like-a-god-on-ea_1595293.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bf/michael-shaara-13044_battlefield_there-s-nothing-so-much-like-a-god-on-ea_1595293.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bf/michael-shaara-13044_battlefield_there-s-nothing-so-much-like-a-god-on-ea_1595293.png) > “There's nothing so much like a god on earth as a General on a battlefield.” [Michael Shaara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shaara/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A battlefield general holds divine-like authority, embodying ultimate power on earth. **In simple terms:** Generals wield god‑like power in war. Key Takeaway Respect the weight of leadership decisions. Themes war leadership power Mood reflective serious Type historical philosophical When to use this quote - military command - strategic planning - historical analysis Key Concepts military history ethics Questions to Reflect On - What responsibilities accompany such power? - How does this view affect civilian‑military relations? A Different Perspective Absolute authority can lead to moral blind spots. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Battlefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/battlefield/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) ## Related quotes > [The earth is the general and equal possession of all humanity and therefore cannot be the property of individuals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-earth-is-the-general-and-equal-possession-of-all-humanity-and/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“Didn’t everything on God’s earth have or acquire defense?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/didn-t-everything-on-god-s-earth-have-or-acquire-defense/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [Many readers fail to realize this, but 'The Color Purple' is a theological text. It is about the reclamation of one's original God: the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/many-readers-fail-to-realize-this-but-the-color-purple-is-a/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [God put me on this earth to accomplish a certain number of things. Right now I am so far behind that I will never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/god-put-me-on-this-earth-to-accomplish-a-certain-number-of-things/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [God put me on Earth to accomplish a certain number of things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-put-me-on-earth-to-accomplish-a-certain-number-of-things/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Why this bloody god on earth, Is always by my side, take me to the place where I die for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/children-of-bodom/why-this-bloody-god-on-earth-is-always-by-my-side-take-me-to-the/) [Children Of Bodom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/children-of-bodom/) > [“God put me on earth to accomplish certain things. Right now, I’m so far behind, I’ll never die.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/god-put-me-on-earth-to-accomplish-certain-things-right-now-i-m-so-far/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [The abode of God, too, is wherever is earth and sea and air, and sky and virtue. Why further do we seek the Gods…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucan/the-abode-of-god-too-is-wherever-is-earth-and-sea-and-air-and-sky-and/) [Lucan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucan/) > [Mother is the living God on this earth. Her love n sacrifice for her children can't be compared with anything in this whole world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/mother-is-the-living-god-on-this-earth-her-love-n-sacrifice-for-her/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [“I saw that sign,' said Dwayne, "and I couldn't help wondering if that was what God put me on the earth for - to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-saw-that-sign-said-dwayne-and-i-couldn-t-help-wondering-if-that-was/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“when my mother was pregnant with her second child i was four i pointed at her swollen belly confused at how my mother had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupi-kaur/when-my-mother-was-pregnant-with-her-second-child-i-was-four-i/) [Rupi Kaur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupi-kaur/) > [I knew that God put me on this earth to be on the radio.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-bradley/i-knew-that-god-put-me-on-this-earth-to-be-on-the-radio/) [Ed Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-bradley/) > [“the actress playing Celia could ask why god had ever put her on earth. and then the voice from the back of the theater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/the-actress-playing-celia-could-ask-why-god-had-ever-put-her-on-earth/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Get a grip on yourself. there's only one god here on earth, and that's you. If you don't like the world, make one you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmina-khadra/get-a-grip-on-yourself-there-s-only-one-god-here-on-earth-and-that-s/) [Yasmina Khadra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmina-khadra/) > [When we discover our purpose, we discover what God put us on this earth to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senora-roy/when-we-discover-our-purpose-we-discover-what-god-put-us-on-this/) [Senora Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senora-roy/) ## More by Michael Shaara > [“The great white joker in the sky dooms us all to stupidity or poverty from birth. No two things on earth are equal or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shaara/the-great-white-joker-in-the-sky-dooms-us-all-to-stupidity-or-poverty/) [Michael Shaara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shaara/) > [“I tell you, Colonel, we got to win this war. What will happen, do you think, if we lose? Do you think the country…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shaara/i-tell-you-colonel-we-got-to-win-this-war-what-will-happen-do-you/) [Michael Shaara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shaara/) > [Perhaps it was only that when you try to put it into words you cannot express it truly, it never sounds as you dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shaara/perhaps-it-was-only-that-when-you-try-to-put-it-into-words-you-cannot/) [Michael Shaara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shaara/) > [Pickett excused himself, watchful of Longstreet. Pickett was always saying something to irritate somebody, and he rarely knew why, so his method was simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shaara/pickett-excused-himself-watchful-of-longstreet-pickett-was-always/) [Michael Shaara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shaara/) > [I've been a soldier all my life. I've fought from the ranks on up, you know my service. But sir, I must tell you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shaara/i-ve-been-a-soldier-all-my-life-i-ve-fought-from-the-ranks-on-up-you/) [Michael Shaara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shaara/) > [“He bent down, scratched the black dirt into his fingers. He was beginning to warm to it; the words were beginning to flow. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shaara/he-bent-down-scratched-the-black-dirt-into-his-fingers-he-was/) [Michael Shaara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shaara/) > [“The true rain came in a monster wind, and the storm broke in blackness over the hills and the bloody valley; the sky opened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shaara/the-true-rain-came-in-a-monster-wind-and-the-storm-broke-in-blackness/) [Michael Shaara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shaara/) > [“I'll wave no more flags for home. No tears for Mother. Nobody ever died for apple pie.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shaara/i-ll-wave-no-more-flags-for-home-no-tears-for-mother-nobody-ever-died/) [Michael Shaara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shaara/) > [“To be a good soldier you must love the army. But to be a good officer you must be willing to order the death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shaara/to-be-a-good-soldier-you-must-love-the-army-but-to-be-a-good-officer/) [Michael Shaara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shaara/) > [“I don't really understand it. Never have. The more I think on it the more it horrifies me. How can they look in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shaara/i-don-t-really-understand-it-never-have-the-more-i-think-on-it-the/) [Michael Shaara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shaara/) > [“He was one of those, like Stuart, who looked on war as God's greatest game.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shaara/he-was-one-of-those-like-stuart-who-looked-on-war-as-god-s-greatest/) [Michael Shaara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shaara/) > [“There is one thing you can do. You can resign now. You can refuse to lead it. But I cannot even do that. Cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shaara/there-is-one-thing-you-can-do-you-can-resign-now-you-can-refuse-to/) [Michael Shaara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shaara/) > [“Then after that I asked this fella what rights he had that we were offendin’, and he said, well, he didn't know, but he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shaara/then-after-that-i-asked-this-fella-what-rights-he-had-that-we-were/) [Michael Shaara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shaara/) > [“There ought to be more than just that metallic end, and then silence, then the worms, and sometimes he believed, but just this moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shaara/there-ought-to-be-more-than-just-that-metallic-end-and-then-silence/) [Michael Shaara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shaara/) > [I've been a soldier all my life. I've fought from the ranks on up, you know my service. But sir, I must tell you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shaara/i-ve-been-a-soldier-all-my-life-i-ve-fought-from-the-ranks-on-up-you-2/) [Michael Shaara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shaara/) [Explore all 52 Michael Shaara quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shaara/) ## More Battlefield quotes > [“Time gives poetry to a battlefield...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/time-gives-poetry-to-a-battlefield/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“life is our battlefield. We must do what we know to do, not what we want to do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-weeks/life-is-our-battlefield-we-must-do-what-we-know-to-do-not-what-we/) [Brent Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-weeks/) > [Men grow old quickly on the battlefield.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/men-grow-old-quickly-on-the-battlefield/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [I'd rather die humbly on a battlefield , surround w/ my military brother's and sister's , in life or too not die at all .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-natorious-rabb/i-d-rather-die-humbly-on-a-battlefield-surround-w-my-military-brother/) [Napoleon Natorious Rabb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-natorious-rabb/) > [“Those mornings were fragile things — like flowers blooming in the middle of a battlefield. She hadn’t realized then that the soil beneath them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-sn/those-mornings-were-fragile-things-like-flowers-blooming-in-the/) Maggie Sn > ['Battlefield' was one of those slow-building songs, the way 'Tattoo' was. It was kind of a word-of-mouth hit. The more people heard it, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordin-sparks/battlefield-was-one-of-those-slow-building-songs-the-way-tattoo-was/) [Jordin Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordin-sparks/) > [When I got to write for the 'Battlefield' record, it was almost therapeutic. I had gone through a few things in the two years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordin-sparks/when-i-got-to-write-for-the-battlefield-record-it-was-almost/) [Jordin Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordin-sparks/) > [What's always got me is the fact that when people talked on the telly about Iraq, before Afghanistan kicked off, you'd get only these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-kemp/what-s-always-got-me-is-the-fact-that-when-people-talked-on-the-telly/) [Ross Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-kemp/) > [When I am in the battlefield, I love it more then my wedding night with the most beautiful of women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalid-ibn-al-walid/when-i-am-in-the-battlefield-i-love-it-more-then-my-wedding-night/) [Khalid ibn al-Walid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalid-ibn-al-walid/) > [There is no God-given right to victory on the battlefield. You win that through the skill and the devotion, the valor and the ferocity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-mattis/there-is-no-god-given-right-to-victory-on-the-battlefield-you-win/) [Jim Mattis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-mattis/) > [The most important 6 inches on the battlefield is between your ears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-mattis/the-most-important-6-inches-on-the-battlefield-is-between-your-ears/) [Jim Mattis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-mattis/) > [The GRU is used for both tactical intelligence collection in the battlefield in support of Russian military operations and also strategic active measures or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dmitri-alperovitch/the-gru-is-used-for-both-tactical-intelligence-collection-in-the/) [Dmitri Alperovitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmitri-alperovitch/) > [When you're on a battlefield, you should know how to fight your way to victory, and you've to be very well-prepared for it. You've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-lever/when-you-re-on-a-battlefield-you-should-know-how-to-fight-your-way-to/) [Johnny Lever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-lever/) > [When you're in the battlefield, survival is all there is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-fuller/when-you-re-in-the-battlefield-survival-is-all-there-is/) [Samuel Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-fuller/) > [A Warrior of the Light cannot always choose his battlefield.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/a-warrior-of-the-light-cannot-always-choose-his-battlefield/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) [Browse all 177 Battlefield quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/battlefield/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There's nothing so much like a god on earth as a General on a battlefield.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Shaara" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shaara/there-s-nothing-so-much-like-a-god-on-earth-as-a-general-on-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Battlefield" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shaara/there-s-nothing-so-much-like-a-god-on-earth-as-a-general-on-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bf/michael-shaara-13044_battlefield_there-s-nothing-so-much-like-a-god-on-ea_1595293.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bf/michael-shaara-13044_battlefield_there-s-nothing-so-much-like-a-god-on-ea_1595293.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bf/michael-shaara-13044_battlefield_there-s-nothing-so-much-like-a-god-on-ea_1595293.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There's nothing so much like a god on earth as a General on a battlefield.” — Michael Shaara", "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": "Michael Shaara", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shaara/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There's nothing so much like a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shaara/there-s-nothing-so-much-like-a-god-on-earth-as-a-general-on-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shaara/there-s-nothing-so-much-like-a-god-on-earth-as-a-general-on-a/#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 } } ] } ```