--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There was a time, in fact, I think the…" description: "\"“There was a time, in fact, I think the time of the first World War, when it could not have been said that war-inciting or war making was a crime in la..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c41/robert-h-jackson-10128_first-world-war_there-was-a-time-in-fact-i-think-the-tim_1203288.jpg" --- # There was a time, in fact, I think the time of the first… ![“There was a time, in fact, I think the time of the first World War, when it could not have been said that war-inciting or war making was a crime in law, however reprehensible in morals. Of course, it was, under the law of all civilized peoples, a crime for one man with his bare knuckles to assault…” quote by Robert H. Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c41/robert-h-jackson-10128_first-world-war_there-was-a-time-in-fact-i-think-the-tim_1203288.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c41/robert-h-jackson-10128_first-world-war_there-was-a-time-in-fact-i-think-the-tim_1203288.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c41/robert-h-jackson-10128_first-world-war_there-was-a-time-in-fact-i-think-the-tim_1203288.jpg) > ““There was a time, in fact, I think the time of the first World War, when it could not have been said that war-inciting or war making was a crime in law, however reprehensible in morals. Of course, it was, under the law of all civilized peoples, a crime for one man with his bare knuckles to assault another. How did it come that multiplying this crime by a million, and adding fire arms to bare knuckles, made it a legally innocent act?”” [Robert H. Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-h-jackson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Legal definitions of crime evolve; actions once illegal become permissible when technology changes, raising moral dilemmas. **In simple terms:** Law changes with technology, creating ethical gaps. Key Takeaway Question how law adapts to new threats. Themes law ethics technology war Mood critical serious Type analytical instructive When to use this quote - policy drafting - military ethics training - public debate - academic research Key Concepts jurisprudence moral philosophy weaponization Questions to Reflect On - How should law keep pace with innovation? - What moral standards should guide new weapons? A Different Perspective Legal loopholes can be exploited. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [First world war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-world-war/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [World war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-war/) ## Related quotes > [There are some whose only reason for inciting war is to use it as a means to exercise their tyranny over their subjects more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desiderius-erasmus/there-are-some-whose-only-reason-for-inciting-war-is-to-use-it-as-a/) [Desiderius Erasmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desiderius-erasmus/) > [“Make it a human war,' she said fiercely. 'You're the first not to be deceived by my looks. Oh God! 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No, war is what's normal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/there-s-always-been-war-said-veillard-but-people-quickly-get/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“You’re against everything that’s been done since the last war,” said the very up-to-date lady. “You’ve got the wrong date: I’m against everything that’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-m-cioran/you-re-against-everything-that-s-been-done-since-the-last-war-said/) [Emil M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-m-cioran/) > [You never kill any one that you want to kill in a war, he said to himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/you-never-kill-any-one-that-you-want-to-kill-in-a-war-he-said-to/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) ## More by Robert H. Jackson > [“The German organized plundering, planned it, disciplined it, and made it official just as he organized everything else, and then he compiled the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-h-jackson/the-german-organized-plundering-planned-it-disciplined-it-and-made-it/) [Robert H. Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-h-jackson/) > [Reversal by a higher court is not proof that justice is thereby better done. There is no doubt that if there were a super-Supreme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-h-jackson/reversal-by-a-higher-court-is-not-proof-that-justice-is-thereby/) [Robert H. Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-h-jackson/) > [Your job today tells me nothing of your future--your use of your leisure today tells me just what your tomorrow will be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-h-jackson/your-job-today-tells-me-nothing-of-your-future-your-use-of-your/) [Robert H. 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Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-h-jackson/) > [I cannot say that our country could have no secret police without becoming totalitarian, but I can say with great conviction that it cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-h-jackson/i-cannot-say-that-our-country-could-have-no-secret-police-without/) [Robert H. Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-h-jackson/) > [It is only the words of the bill that have presidential approval, where that approval is given. It is not to be supposed that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-h-jackson/it-is-only-the-words-of-the-bill-that-have-presidential-approval/) [Robert H. Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-h-jackson/) > [If we can cultivate in the world the idea that aggressive war-making is the way to the prisoner's dock rather than the way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-h-jackson/if-we-can-cultivate-in-the-world-the-idea-that-aggressive-war-making/) [Robert H. 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Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-h-jackson/) [Explore all 67 Robert H. Jackson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-h-jackson/) ## More First world war quotes > [I did not know that the planning for biological and chemical warfare was so widespread in England, and even in France before France fell.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/i-did-not-know-that-the-planning-for-biological-and-chemical-warfare/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [“I told him that if we doubted that we are demons in Hell, he should read The Mysterious Stranger, which Mark Twain wrote in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-told-him-that-if-we-doubted-that-we-are-demons-in-hell-he-should/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“the democracies that arose after the First World War (and the Second) often collapsed when a single party seized power in some combination of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/the-democracies-that-arose-after-the-first-world-war-and-the-second/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“Father was always getting into scrapes when he was a lad. 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