--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: War is the antithesis of all our…" description: "\"War is the antithesis of all our teaching. It breaks all the commandments; it makes rich men poor, and strong men weak. It makes well men sick, and by ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ed/nellie-l-mcclung-16299_antithesis_war-is-the-antithesis-of-all-our-teachin_2479369.jpg" --- # War is the antithesis of all our teaching. It breaks all… ![“War is the antithesis of all our teaching. It breaks all the commandments; it makes rich men poor, and strong men weak. It makes well men sick, and by it living men are changed to dead men.” quote by Nellie L. McClung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ed/nellie-l-mcclung-16299_antithesis_war-is-the-antithesis-of-all-our-teachin_2479369.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ed/nellie-l-mcclung-16299_antithesis_war-is-the-antithesis-of-all-our-teachin_2479369.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ed/nellie-l-mcclung-16299_antithesis_war-is-the-antithesis-of-all-our-teachin_2479369.jpg) > “War is the antithesis of all our teaching. It breaks all the commandments; it makes rich men poor, and strong men weak. It makes well men sick, and by it living men are changed to dead men.” [Nellie L. McClung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-l-mcclung/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. War destroys moral foundations, flips social order, and corrupts health and humanity. **In simple terms:** War reverses values and harms everyone. Key Takeaway Recognize war’s true cost. Themes war morality humanity social order health Mood somber reflective Type political philosophical When to use this quote - political debate - peace activism - education curricula - health policy - family counseling Key Concepts ethical decay power inversion psychological trauma Questions to Reflect On - How does war alter personal ethics? - What policies can prevent war’s moral collapse? A Different Perspective War can be rationalized as necessary, obscuring its devastation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Antithesis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antithesis/) [Commandments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commandments/) [Dead man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead-man/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Rich man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rich-man/) [Rich men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rich-men/) [Strong man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strong-man/) [Strong men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strong-men/) [Teaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [“The words "God said" appear ten times in the creation account. In this way the creation narrative anticipates the Ten Commandments. This makes us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/the-words-god-said-appear-ten-times-in-the-creation-account-in-this/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [“In all honesty, men changed a few rules when they became what was referred to as househusbands. Bill didn't make beds, cook, dust, do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/in-all-honesty-men-changed-a-few-rules-when-they-became-what-was/) [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) > [One night alone in prayer might make us new men, changed from poverty of soul to spiritual wealth, from trembling to triumphing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/one-night-alone-in-prayer-might-make-us-new-men-changed-from-poverty/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [What would we say if men changed the length of their trousers every year?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-astor/what-would-we-say-if-men-changed-the-length-of-their-trousers-every/) [Nancy Astor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-astor/) > [Now that we're men, I changed my underwear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-star/now-that-we-re-men-i-changed-my-underwear/) [Patrick Star](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-star/) > [The theories of men changed from day to day. Much that is taught new will tomorrow be in the discard, but the word of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-fielding-smith/the-theories-of-men-changed-from-day-to-day-much-that-is-taught-new/) [Joseph Fielding Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-fielding-smith/) > [“I thought, men who changed their names were likely to be con-men, criminals, undercover agents or magicians, whereas women who changed their names were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-thought-men-who-changed-their-names-were-likely-to-be-con-men/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Men who have changed the world never achieved their success by winning the chief citizens to their side, but always by stirring the masses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/men-who-have-changed-the-world-never-achieved-their-success-by/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [When we talk about women's struggle to balance their lives, certain men growl, 'If you can't stand the heat, get back to the kitchen.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-pearson/when-we-talk-about-women-s-struggle-to-balance-their-lives-certain/) [Allison Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-pearson/) > [The hearts of great men can be changed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/the-hearts-of-great-men-can-be-changed/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [ I wrote a comedy, which hopefully \[Rick director\] Curtiss Clayton will bring to the screen, that I thought was the antithesis of all my… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/i-wrote-a-comedy-which-hopefully-rick-director-curtiss-clayton-will/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [One of the goals of philosophy is wage theoretical battle. That is why we can say that every thesis is always, by its very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-althusser/one-of-the-goals-of-philosophy-is-wage-theoretical-battle-that-is-why/) [Louis Althusser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-althusser/) > [“All this waiting. Waiting for the rain to stop. Waiting in traffic. Waiting for the bill. Waiting at the airport for an old friend.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/all-this-waiting-waiting-for-the-rain-to-stop-waiting-in-traffic/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [... Michael Bloomfield was the antithesis of a collector ... he didn't care how old a guitar was; all he wanted was something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-gravenites/michael-bloomfield-was-the-antithesis-of-a-collector-he-didn-t-care/) Nick Gravenites > [Christie led the way - with a bulldozer. The governor is blunt, brash, and self-consciously authentic, the antithesis to what turns off today's voters:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-fournier/christie-led-the-way-with-a-bulldozer-the-governor-is-blunt-brash-and/) [Ron Fournier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-fournier/) ## More by Nellie L. McClung > [No nation ever rises higher than its women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-l-mcclung/no-nation-ever-rises-higher-than-its-women/) [Nellie L. McClung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-l-mcclung/) > [Chivalry is a poor substitute for justice, if one cannot have both. Chivalry is something like the icing on the cake, sweet but not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-l-mcclung/chivalry-is-a-poor-substitute-for-justice-if-one-cannot-have-both/) [Nellie L. McClung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-l-mcclung/) > [War is a crime committed by men and, therefore, when enough people say it shall not be, it cannot be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-l-mcclung/war-is-a-crime-committed-by-men-and-therefore-when-enough-people-say/) [Nellie L. McClung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-l-mcclung/) > [Humanity has to travel a hard road to wisdom, and it has to travel it with bleeding feet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-l-mcclung/humanity-has-to-travel-a-hard-road-to-wisdom-and-it-has-to-travel-it/) [Nellie L. McClung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-l-mcclung/) > [Disturbers are never popular - nobody ever really loved an alarm clock in action, no matter how grateful he may have been afterwards for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-l-mcclung/disturbers-are-never-popular-nobody-ever-really-loved-an-alarm-clock/) [Nellie L. McClung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-l-mcclung/) > [Children are great idealists, until the stupidity of their elders puts out the fires of the aspirations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-l-mcclung/children-are-great-idealists-until-the-stupidity-of-their-elders-puts/) [Nellie L. McClung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-l-mcclung/) > [Women had first to convince the world that they had souls and then that they had minds and then it came on to this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-l-mcclung/women-had-first-to-convince-the-world-that-they-had-souls-and-then/) [Nellie L. McClung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-l-mcclung/) > [In regard to tenacity of life, no old yellow cat has anything on a prejudice. You may kill it with your own hands, bury…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-l-mcclung/in-regard-to-tenacity-of-life-no-old-yellow-cat-has-anything-on-a/) [Nellie L. McClung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-l-mcclung/) > [Men alone are not capable of making laws for men and women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-l-mcclung/men-alone-are-not-capable-of-making-laws-for-men-and-women/) [Nellie L. McClung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-l-mcclung/) > [Chivalry is like a line of credit. You can get plenty of it when you do not need it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-l-mcclung/chivalry-is-like-a-line-of-credit-you-can-get-plenty-of-it-when-you/) [Nellie L. McClung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-l-mcclung/) > [Literature may be light as a cobweb, but it must be fastened down to life at the four corners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-l-mcclung/literature-may-be-light-as-a-cobweb-but-it-must-be-fastened-down-to/) [Nellie L. McClung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-l-mcclung/) > [The good is the greatest rival of the best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-l-mcclung/the-good-is-the-greatest-rival-of-the-best/) [Nellie L. McClung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-l-mcclung/) > [Why are pencils equipped with erasers if not to correct mistakes?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-l-mcclung/why-are-pencils-equipped-with-erasers-if-not-to-correct-mistakes/) [Nellie L. McClung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-l-mcclung/) > [The middle years of life come on like thunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-l-mcclung/the-middle-years-of-life-come-on-like-thunder/) [Nellie L. McClung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-l-mcclung/) > [I think this is the greatest and best country in all the world, with its great sunlit spaces and its long long roads, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-l-mcclung/i-think-this-is-the-greatest-and-best-country-in-all-the-world-with/) [Nellie L. McClung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-l-mcclung/) [Explore all 40 Nellie L. McClung quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-l-mcclung/) ## More Antithesis quotes > [Christie led the way - with a bulldozer. The governor is blunt, brash, and self-consciously authentic, the antithesis to what turns off today's voters:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-fournier/christie-led-the-way-with-a-bulldozer-the-governor-is-blunt-brash-and/) [Ron Fournier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-fournier/) > [... Michael Bloomfield was the antithesis of a collector ... he didn't care how old a guitar was; all he wanted was something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-gravenites/michael-bloomfield-was-the-antithesis-of-a-collector-he-didn-t-care/) Nick Gravenites > [“All this waiting. Waiting for the rain to stop. Waiting in traffic. Waiting for the bill. Waiting at the airport for an old friend.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/all-this-waiting-waiting-for-the-rain-to-stop-waiting-in-traffic/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [One of the goals of philosophy is wage theoretical battle. That is why we can say that every thesis is always, by its very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-althusser/one-of-the-goals-of-philosophy-is-wage-theoretical-battle-that-is-why/) [Louis Althusser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-althusser/) > [ I wrote a comedy, which hopefully \[Rick director\] Curtiss Clayton will bring to the screen, that I thought was the antithesis of all my… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/i-wrote-a-comedy-which-hopefully-rick-director-curtiss-clayton-will/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [Everything contains its antithesis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juliet-stevenson/everything-contains-its-antithesis/) [Juliet Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juliet-stevenson/) > [I'm unhappy with the President Trump. I don't like his behavior, and I'm a Republican, and I don't like his policies because they're almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/les-wexner/i-m-unhappy-with-the-president-trump-i-don-t-like-his-behavior-and-i/) [Les Wexner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/les-wexner/) > [the overwhelming majority of people who are engaged in the processes of thought and expression are Democrats because the essence of thought is exploration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-mannes/the-overwhelming-majority-of-people-who-are-engaged-in-the-processes/) [Marya Mannes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-mannes/) > [Free will appears unfettered, deliberate; it is boundlessly free, wandering, the spirit. But fate is a necessity; unless we believe that world history is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/free-will-appears-unfettered-deliberate-it-is-boundlessly-free/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I am so stupid that I cannot understand philosophy; the antithesis of this is that philosophy is so clever that it cannot comprehend my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/i-am-so-stupid-that-i-cannot-understand-philosophy-the-antithesis-of/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Communism forgets that life is individual. Capitalism forgets that life is social, and the kingdom of brotherhood is found neither in the thesis of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/communism-forgets-that-life-is-individual-capitalism-forgets-that/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Composing computer programs to solve scientific problems is like writing poetry. You must choose every word with care and link it with the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lovelock/composing-computer-programs-to-solve-scientific-problems-is-like/) [James Lovelock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lovelock/) > [Don't seek happiness. If you seek it, you won't find it, because seeking is the antithesis of happiness. Happiness is ever elusive, but freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/don-t-seek-happiness-if-you-seek-it-you-won-t-find-it-because-seeking/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Without making any moral judgements whatsoever, one can say that self-indulgence and excessive self-preoccupation are the antithesis of genuine awareness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-rolheiser/without-making-any-moral-judgements-whatsoever-one-can-say-that-self/) [Ronald Rolheiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-rolheiser/) > [I am not a hoarder, but my wardrobe is the antithesis of fast fashion. I buy clothes - beautiful in looks and make -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-menkes/i-am-not-a-hoarder-but-my-wardrobe-is-the-antithesis-of-fast-fashion/) [Suzy Menkes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-menkes/) [Browse all 152 Antithesis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antithesis/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "War is the antithesis of all our teaching. It breaks all the commandments; it makes rich men poor, and strong men weak. It makes well men sick, and by it living men are changed to dead men.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nellie L. 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