--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But what a cruel thing is war to separate…" description: "\"But what a cruel thing is war to separate and destroy families and friends.\" — Robert E. Lee" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cd/robert-e-lee-2368_family_but-what-a-cruel-thing-is-war-to-separat_2115479.png" --- # But what a cruel thing is war to separate and destroy… ![“But what a cruel thing is war to separate and destroy families and friends.” quote by Robert E. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cd/robert-e-lee-2368_family_but-what-a-cruel-thing-is-war-to-separat_2115479.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cd/robert-e-lee-2368_family_but-what-a-cruel-thing-is-war-to-separat_2115479.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cd/robert-e-lee-2368_family_but-what-a-cruel-thing-is-war-to-separat_2115479.png) > “But what a cruel thing is war to separate and destroy families and friends.” [Robert E. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-lee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. War tears families apart, causing deep sorrow and loss. **In simple terms:** War destroys families. Key Takeaway Seek peace over conflict. Themes war family loss Mood somber reflective Type historical emotional When to use this quote - personal letters - historical analysis Key Concepts human cost of conflict emotional trauma Questions to Reflect On - How can societies prevent war’s damage to families? - What alternatives to war exist? A Different Perspective War may be justified by politics but still harms loved ones. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cruel Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruel-thing-503489/) [Destroy Families](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destroy-families-2572338/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Family and friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family-and-friends/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Peace war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace-war/) [Separate Destroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/separate-destroy-4290781/) [Separation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/separation/) [Thing War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-war-272637/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [War love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war-love/) [War Separate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war-separate-2837565/) ## Related quotes > [What a cruel thing is war: to separate and destroy families and friends, and mar the purest joys and happiness God has granted us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-lee/what-a-cruel-thing-is-war-to-separate-and-destroy-families-and/) [Robert E. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-lee/) > [Criticism and pessimism destroy families, undermine institutions of all kinds, defeat nearly everyone, and spread a shroud of gloom over entire nations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley/criticism-and-pessimism-destroy-families-undermine-institutions-of/) [Gordon B. Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley/) > [What a cruel thing war is... to fill our hearts with hatred instead of love for our neighbors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-lee/what-a-cruel-thing-war-is-to-fill-our-hearts-with-hatred-instead-of/) [Robert E. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-lee/) > [If we do not learn to regard a war, and the separate campaigns of which it is composed, as a chain of linked engagements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/if-we-do-not-learn-to-regard-a-war-and-the-separate-campaigns-of/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [The Bible does not isolate war, as if it were something separate and unique and quite apart, as we tend to do in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martyn-lloyd-jones/the-bible-does-not-isolate-war-as-if-it-were-something-separate-and/) [Martyn Lloyd-Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martyn-lloyd-jones/) > [“That's the thing about war: it's never enough to disable the buildings, to blow holes into their middles; instead, they're hit over and over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/izzeldin-abuelaish/that-s-the-thing-about-war-it-s-never-enough-to-disable-the-buildings/) [Izzeldin Abuelaish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/izzeldin-abuelaish/) > [The worst thing about war is that so many people enjoy it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/the-worst-thing-about-war-is-that-so-many-people-enjoy-it/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [All efforts to make politics aesthetic culminate in one thing, war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/all-efforts-to-make-politics-aesthetic-culminate-in-one-thing-war/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [The bad thing of war is, that it makes more evil people than it can take away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/the-bad-thing-of-war-is-that-it-makes-more-evil-people-than-it-can/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [There is hardly such a thing as a war in which it makes no difference who wins. 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Absolutely everything gets a little something”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/that-s-the-attractive-thing-about-war-absolutely-everything-gets-a/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [The worst thing about war was the sitting around and wondering what you were doing morally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-fussell/the-worst-thing-about-war-was-the-sitting-around-and-wondering-what/) [Paul Fussell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-fussell/) > [And the next thing is that every war is going to astonish you in the way it occurred, and in the way it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/and-the-next-thing-is-that-every-war-is-going-to-astonish-you-in-the/) [Dwight D. 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