--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A foreign war is a lot milder than a…" description: "\"A foreign war is a lot milder than a civil war.\" — Michel de Montaigne" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d8/michel-de-montaigne-142_civil-war_a-foreign-war-is-a-lot-milder-than-a-civ_96099.jpg" --- # A foreign war is a lot milder than a civil war. ![“A foreign war is a lot milder than a civil war.” quote by Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d8/michel-de-montaigne-142_civil-war_a-foreign-war-is-a-lot-milder-than-a-civ_96099.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d8/michel-de-montaigne-142_civil-war_a-foreign-war-is-a-lot-milder-than-a-civ_96099.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d8/michel-de-montaigne-142_civil-war_a-foreign-war-is-a-lot-milder-than-a-civ_96099.jpg) > “A foreign war is a lot milder than a civil war.” [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. External wars are less brutal to a society than internal conflicts that tear communities apart. **In simple terms:** Civil wars are more damaging than foreign wars. Key Takeaway Internal strife inflicts deeper wounds. Themes war civil conflict human cost societal cohesion Mood somber reflective Type historical philosophical When to use this quote - post‑civil war reconciliation - foreign military interventions Key Concepts psychology of in-group violence Practical Applications - prioritize diplomatic conflict resolution - invest in community healing programs Questions to Reflect On - What factors make civil wars uniquely destructive? - Can external wars ever be less harmful? A Different Perspective Some foreign wars cause massive civilian casualties, rivaling civil wars. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civil war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-war/) [Foreign War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreign-war-1179675/) [Lot Milder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lot-milder-1179676/) [Milder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/milder-1179677/) [Milder Civil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/milder-civil-1179674/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [“Civil war... What did the words mean? Was there any such thing as 'foreign war'? Was not all warfare between men warfare between brothers?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/civil-war-what-did-the-words-mean-was-there-any-such-thing-as-foreign/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Baseball changes through the years. It gets milder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babe-ruth/baseball-changes-through-the-years-it-gets-milder/) [Babe Ruth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babe-ruth/) > [There is no better way to give comfort to an enemy than to divide the people of a nation over the issue of foreign…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/there-is-no-better-way-to-give-comfort-to-an-enemy-than-to-divide-the-2/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [“I talk of you: Why did you wish me milder? would you have me False to my nature? Rather say I play The man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-talk-of-you-why-did-you-wish-me-milder-would-you-have-me-false-to/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/civil-war-what-does-that-mean-is-there-any-foreign-war-isn-t-every/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Both my sons are dyslexic, and so, too, in a much milder form, is one of my daughters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theo-paphitis/both-my-sons-are-dyslexic-and-so-too-in-a-much-milder-form-is-one-of/) [Theo Paphitis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theo-paphitis/) > [“Why did you wish me milder? would you have me False to my nature? Rather say I play The man I am.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/why-did-you-wish-me-milder-would-you-have-me-false-to-my-nature/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [There is no better way to give comfort to an enemy than to divide the people of a nation over the issue of foreign…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/there-is-no-better-way-to-give-comfort-to-an-enemy-than-to-divide-the/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [“Why did you wish me milder? Would you have me 16 False to my nature? Rather say I play 17 The man I am.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/why-did-you-wish-me-milder-would-you-have-me-16-false-to-my-nature/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [What the Bush administration is primarily interested in is regime change in the United States, not regime change in Iraq or South East Asia…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham-2/what-the-bush-administration-is-primarily-interested-in-is-regime/) [Lewis H Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham-2/) > [Civil war… What did the words mean? Was there any such thing as "foreign war"? Was not all warfare between men warfare between brothers?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/civil-war-what-did-the-words-mean-was-there-any-such-thing-as-foreign-2/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [One needs only to get old to become milder; I don't see anyone make a mistake I hadn't also made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/one-needs-only-to-get-old-to-become-milder-i-don-t-see-anyone-make-a/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“AUSTRALIA, LIKE THE UNITED STATES, experienced a different path to inclusive institutions than the one taken by England. The same revolutions that shook England…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daron-acemo-lu/australia-like-the-united-states-experienced-a-different-path-to/) [Daron Acemoğlu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daron-acemo-lu/) > [“Whatever happened in those more than one hundred years, from the time my great-great-great grandfather studied law to the time when my own father…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwenn-wright/whatever-happened-in-those-more-than-one-hundred-years-from-the-time/) [Gwenn Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwenn-wright/) > [“Time overlaps itself. A breath breathed from a passing breeze is not the whole wind, neither is it just the last of what has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-kesey/time-overlaps-itself-a-breath-breathed-from-a-passing-breeze-is-not/) [Ken Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-kesey/) ## More by Michel de Montaigne > [No man is exempt from saying silly things; the mischief is to say them deliberately.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/no-man-is-exempt-from-saying-silly-things-the-mischief-is-to-say-them/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [The laws keep up their credit, not by being just, but because they are laws; 'tis the mystic foundation of their authority; they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-laws-keep-up-their-credit-not-by-being-just-but-because-they-are/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Every one rushes elsewhere and into the future, because no one wants to face one's own inner self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/every-one-rushes-elsewhere-and-into-the-future-because-no-one-wants/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Beauty is the true prerogative of women, and so peculiarly their own, that our sex, though naturally requiring another sort of feature, is never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/beauty-is-the-true-prerogative-of-women-and-so-peculiarly-their-own/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [The height and value of true virtue consists in the facility, utility, and pleasure of its exercise; so far from difficulty, that boys, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-height-and-value-of-true-virtue-consists-in-the-facility-utility/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Fie on the eloquence that leaves us craving itself, not things!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/fie-on-the-eloquence-that-leaves-us-craving-itself-not-things/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [The plainest sign of wisdom is a continual cheerfulness: her state is like that of things in the regions above the moon, always clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-plainest-sign-of-wisdom-is-a-continual-cheerfulness-her-state-is/) [Michel De Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [The corruption of the age is made up by the particular contribution of every individual man; some contribute treachery, others injustice, atheism, tyranny, avarice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-corruption-of-the-age-is-made-up-by-the-particular-contribution/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [If people must be talking about me, I would have it to be truthfully and justly. I would willingly return from the next world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/if-people-must-be-talking-about-me-i-would-have-it-to-be-truthfully/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Most pleasures embrace us but to strangle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/most-pleasures-embrace-us-but-to-strangle/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [In true friendship, in which I am expert, I give myself to my friend more than I draw him to me. I not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/in-true-friendship-in-which-i-am-expert-i-give-myself-to-my-friend/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [There are as many and innumerable degrees of wit, as there are cubits between this and heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/there-are-as-many-and-innumerable-degrees-of-wit-as-there-are-cubits/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [A man has need of tough ears to hear himself fairly judged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/a-man-has-need-of-tough-ears-to-hear-himself-fairly-judged/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Lucius Arruntius killed himself, he said, to escape both the future and the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/lucius-arruntius-killed-himself-he-said-to-escape-both-the-future-and/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [I have a vocabulary all my own. I pass the time when itis wet and disagreeable. Whenit is fine I do not wish to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/i-have-a-vocabulary-all-my-own-i-pass-the-time-when-itis-wet-and/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) [Explore all 1,131 Michel de Montaigne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) ## More Civil war quotes > [“Time overlaps itself. A breath breathed from a passing breeze is not the whole wind, neither is it just the last of what has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-kesey/time-overlaps-itself-a-breath-breathed-from-a-passing-breeze-is-not/) [Ken Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-kesey/) > [“Whatever happened in those more than one hundred years, from the time my great-great-great grandfather studied law to the time when my own father…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwenn-wright/whatever-happened-in-those-more-than-one-hundred-years-from-the-time/) [Gwenn Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwenn-wright/) > [“AUSTRALIA, LIKE THE UNITED STATES, experienced a different path to inclusive institutions than the one taken by England. The same revolutions that shook England…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daron-acemo-lu/australia-like-the-united-states-experienced-a-different-path-to/) [Daron Acemoğlu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daron-acemo-lu/) > [“These are all good things, I said. But no one knows where your country is or who you are. You don't have a familiar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-shteyngart/these-are-all-good-things-i-said-but-no-one-knows-where-your-country/) [Gary Shteyngart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-shteyngart/) > [“Thinking about the weather was one way of shutting out of his mind the appalling bloody human mess sprawled out over the bed of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ellis/thinking-about-the-weather-was-one-way-of-shutting-out-of-his-mind/) [Mark Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ellis/) > [It cost about 75 cents to kill a man in Ceasar's time. The price rose to about $3,000 per man during the Napoleonic wars;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer-bone/it-cost-about-75-cents-to-kill-a-man-in-ceasar-s-time-the-price-rose/) [Homer Bone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer-bone/) > [Alabama soldiers, all I ask of you is to keep up with the Texans!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-lee/alabama-soldiers-all-i-ask-of-you-is-to-keep-up-with-the-texans/) [Robert E. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-lee/) > [“ “In the South, football is confused with religion, chivalry, the Civil War, and women.” -Diane Roberts, The Quotable South ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-ford/in-the-south-football-is-confused-with-religion-chivalry-the-civil/) [Deborah Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-ford/) > [“By the following morning, September 15, Jackson had positioned nearly fifty guns on Maryland Heights and at the base of Loudoun Heights.  Then he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-river-editors/by-the-following-morning-september-15-jackson-had-positioned-nearly/) [Charles River Editors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-river-editors/) > [Strange, (is it not?) that battles, martyrs, blood, even assassination should so condense - perhaps only really lastingly condense - a Nationality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/strange-is-it-not-that-battles-martyrs-blood-even-assassination/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [You must study to be frank with the world: frankness is the child of honesty and courage. Say just what you mean to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-lee/you-must-study-to-be-frank-with-the-world-frankness-is-the-child-of/) [Robert E. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-lee/) > [“Civil wars...are the best wars for the writer...because they have a way of continuing long afterwl wars between nations are resolved; because, with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/civil-wars-are-the-best-wars-for-the-writer-because-they-have-a-way/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [I am out of money,we are all out of money,but we dont need money down here- Dont need anything but Men , Muskets, Ammunition,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-connolly/i-am-out-of-money-we-are-all-out-of-money-but-we-dont-need-money-down/) [James A. Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-connolly/) > [Affirmative action was designed to recognize the uniquely difficult journey of African-Americans. This policy was justifiable and understandable, even to those who came from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-webb/affirmative-action-was-designed-to-recognize-the-uniquely-difficult/) [Jim Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-webb/) > [“Only twenty - nine years in the entire human history had been without warfare, and now here he was too, travelling between the episodes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadeem-aslam/only-twenty-nine-years-in-the-entire-human-history-had-been-without/) [Nadeem Aslam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadeem-aslam/) [Browse all 1,714 Civil war quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-war/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A foreign war is a lot milder than a civil war.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michel de Montaigne" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/a-foreign-war-is-a-lot-milder-than-a-civil-war/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Civil war" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/a-foreign-war-is-a-lot-milder-than-a-civil-war/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d8/michel-de-montaigne-142_civil-war_a-foreign-war-is-a-lot-milder-than-a-civ_96099.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d8/michel-de-montaigne-142_civil-war_a-foreign-war-is-a-lot-milder-than-a-civ_96099.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d8/michel-de-montaigne-142_civil-war_a-foreign-war-is-a-lot-milder-than-a-civ_96099.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A foreign war is a lot milder than a civil war.” — Michel de Montaigne", "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": "Michel de Montaigne", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A foreign war is a lot...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/a-foreign-war-is-a-lot-milder-than-a-civil-war/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/a-foreign-war-is-a-lot-milder-than-a-civil-war/#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 } } ] } ```