--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Madness,” he exclaimed to himself, in…" description: "\"“Madness,” he exclaimed to himself, in astonishment, faltering. “Madness! What do they want? Once again, once again!” War once again, war that had so r..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d54/stefan-zweig-811_war_madness-he-exclaimed-to-himself-in-aston_3260.jpg" --- # Madness,” he exclaimed to himself, in astonishment… ![“Madness,” he exclaimed to himself, in astonishment, faltering. “Madness! What do they want? Once again, once again!” War once again, war that had so recently shattered his whole life? With a strange shudder, he looked at those young faces, staring at the black mass on the move in ranks of four…” quote by Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d54/stefan-zweig-811_war_madness-he-exclaimed-to-himself-in-aston_3260.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d54/stefan-zweig-811_war_madness-he-exclaimed-to-himself-in-aston_3260.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d54/stefan-zweig-811_war_madness-he-exclaimed-to-himself-in-aston_3260.jpg) > ““Madness,” he exclaimed to himself, in astonishment, faltering. “Madness! What do they want? Once again, once again!” War once again, war that had so recently shattered his whole life? With a strange shudder, he looked at those young faces, staring at the black mass on the move in ranks of four, like a square strip of film running, unrolling out of a narrow alley as if out of a dark box, and every face it showed was instantly rigid with bitter determination, a threat, a weapon. Why was this threat so noisily uttered on a mild June evening, hammered home in a gently dreaming city? “What do they want? What do they want?” The question still had him by the throat. Only just now he had seen the world in bright, musical clarity, with the light of love and tenderness shining over it, he had been part of a melody of kindness and trust. And suddenly the iron steps of that marching throng were treading everything down, men girding themselves for the fray, men of a thousand different kinds, shouting with a thousand voices, yet expressing only one thing in their eyes and their onward march, hate, hate, hate.”” [Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A soldier confronts the paradox of war’s brutal uniformity versus fleeting moments of love, feeling trapped between collective hatred and personal tenderness. **In simple terms:** War forces a clash between collective hatred and fleeting love. Key Takeaway War amplifies inner conflict between love and hate. Themes War Collective Identity Love Hate Psychological Turmoil Mood Tension Despair Melancholy Type Philosophical Narrative When to use this quote - War literature analysis - Psychology of soldiers - Peace studies - Film scriptwriting Key Concepts War Trauma Human Duality Narrative Tension Practical Applications - Exploring war's emotional paradox - Developing anti‑war narratives Questions to Reflect On - What does the repeated chant of hate reveal about group psychology? - Can love truly survive amid relentless conflict? A Different Perspective The passage may romanticize war’s drama, overlooking its mundane suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Madness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/madness/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [I believe in love and lust and sex and romance. I don't want everything to add up to some perfect equation. I want mess…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbra-streisand/i-believe-in-love-and-lust-and-sex-and-romance-i-don-t-want/) [Barbra Streisand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbra-streisand/) > [Posttraumatic stress is something that's always existed. I think that the earliest recording was during the Trojan War, but it's only recently that we're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-di-giovanni/posttraumatic-stress-is-something-that-s-always-existed-i-think-that/) [Janine di Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janine-di-giovanni/) > [“So, if people don't want a war - are opposed to a war - how do you get away with it? 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Is that so bad?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card-2/i-don-t-want-to-destroy-anybody-and-i-don-t-want-war-either-i-want/) Orson Scott-Card > [“You call me castoff,” Mahlia said, “Chinese throwaway, whatever.” Amaya was trying to look away, but Mahlia had her pinned, kept her eye to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-bacigalupi/you-call-me-castoff-mahlia-said-chinese-throwaway-whatever-amaya-was/) [Paolo Bacigalupi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-bacigalupi/) > [I don't want to do a war film per se. Nor do I want to do a political film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-leone/i-don-t-want-to-do-a-war-film-per-se-nor-do-i-want-to-do-a-political/) [Sergio Leone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-leone/) > [Sure, we want to go home. We want this war over with. The quickest way to get it over with is to go get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-s-patton/sure-we-want-to-go-home-we-want-this-war-over-with-the-quickest-way/) [George S. Patton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-s-patton/) > [I used to want to be a war photographer, and I used to want to be a ballerina and a comedian. I used to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cat-power/i-used-to-want-to-be-a-war-photographer-and-i-used-to-want-to-be-a/) [Cat Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cat-power/) > [“Peace builds, war destroys. Nations are fundamentally peaceful because they recognize the predominant utility of peace. 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He want shit to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enhance-dreams/a-guy-just-wants-peace-of-mind-sometimes-he-doesn-t-want-to-go-to-war/) Enhance Dreams ## More by Stefan Zweig > [It is never until one realizes that one means something to others that one feels there is any point or purpose in one's own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-zweig/it-is-never-until-one-realizes-that-one-means-something-to-others/) [Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/) > [“And if I am asked today to advise a young writer who has not yet made up his mind what way to go, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-zweig/and-if-i-am-asked-today-to-advise-a-young-writer-who-has-not-yet-made/) [Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/) > [“Live and let live” was the famous Viennese motto, which today still seems to me to be more humane than all the categorical imperatives,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-zweig/live-and-let-live-was-the-famous-viennese-motto-which-today-still/) [Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/) > [“Değerli olan her zaman için gerçeğin yarısı değil, tamamıdır.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-zweig/de-erli-olan-her-zaman-i-in-ger-e-in-yar-s-de-il-tamam-d-r/) [Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/) > [One never gets to know a person's character better than by watching his behavior during decisive moments… It is always only danger which forces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-zweig/one-never-gets-to-know-a-person-s-character-better-than-by-watching/) [Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/) > [Names have a mysterious transforming power. 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He must be forever searching.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-zweig/the-truths-that-he-finds-may-in-the-coming-months-or-even-the-coming/) [Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/) > [The union of opposites, in so far as they are really complementary, always results in the most perfect harmony; and the seemingly incongruous is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-zweig/the-union-of-opposites-in-so-far-as-they-are-really-complementary/) [Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/) > [The sight of a wedding always has a disturbing effect on young girls; at such moments a mysterious sense of solidarity with their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-zweig/the-sight-of-a-wedding-always-has-a-disturbing-effect-on-young-girls/) [Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/) > [“Lightly, caressingly, Marie Antoinette picked up the crown as a gift. 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Why was this threat so noisily uttered on a mild June evening, hammered home in a gently dreaming city? “What do they want? What do they want?” The question still had him by the throat. Only just now he had seen the world in bright, musical clarity, with the light of love and tenderness shining over it, he had been part of a melody of kindness and trust. 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