---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have seen enough of one war never to…"
description: "\"I have seen enough of one war never to wish to see another.\" — Thomas Jefferson"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f1/thomas-jefferson-43_enough_i-have-seen-enough-of-one-war-never-to-w_254621.jpg"
---

#  I have seen enough of one war never to wish to see another.

![“I have seen enough of one war never to wish to see another.” quote by Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f1/thomas-jefferson-43_enough_i-have-seen-enough-of-one-war-never-to-w_254621.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f1/thomas-jefferson-43_enough_i-have-seen-enough-of-one-war-never-to-w_254621.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f1/thomas-jefferson-43_enough_i-have-seen-enough-of-one-war-never-to-w_254621.jpg)

> “I have seen enough of one war never to wish to see another.”

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

War leaves lasting trauma, making future conflicts undesirable.

**In simple terms:** War causes lasting trauma.

Key Takeaway

Avoid repeat conflicts.

Themes

war peace humanity

Mood

reflective somber

Type

historical philosophical

When to use this quote

- policy making
- education
- peace advocacy

Key Concepts

trauma historical memory

Questions to Reflect On

- How does personal experience shape views on war?
- What can societies do to prevent repeat wars?

A Different Perspective

Peace may be hard to achieve despite desire.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/)

## Related quotes

> [I have seen war ... I hate war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/i-have-seen-war-i-hate-war/)

[Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/)

> [I wrote somewhere during the Cold War that I sometimes wish the Iron Curtain were much taller than it is, so that you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-gold/i-wrote-somewhere-during-the-cold-war-that-i-sometimes-wish-the-iron/)

Thomas Gold

> [No more war! Never again war! If you wish to be brothers, drop your weapons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-paul-vi/no-more-war-never-again-war-if-you-wish-to-be-brothers-drop-your/)

[Pope Paul VI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-paul-vi/)

> [I have seen war. I have seen war on land and sea. I have seen blood running from the wounded. I have seen men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/i-have-seen-war-i-have-seen-war-on-land-and-sea-i-have-seen-blood/)

[Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/)

> [“Maggot twitch, some people called it. If you’d seen much of the war, you had it. Some more. Some less. But everybody had it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-bacigalupi/maggot-twitch-some-people-called-it-if-you-d-seen-much-of-the-war-you/)

[Paolo Bacigalupi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-bacigalupi/)

> [You do not want a war. You have known violence, you have suffered loss, but you have seen nothing of war. War is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/you-do-not-want-a-war-you-have-known-violence-you-have-suffered-loss/)

[Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/)

> [Having seen war, you obviously learned to hate war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-hatfield/having-seen-war-you-obviously-learned-to-hate-war/)

[Mark Hatfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-hatfield/)

> [“War is one of the constants of history, and has not diminished with civilization or democracy. In the last 3,421 years of recorded history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/war-is-one-of-the-constants-of-history-and-has-not-diminished-with/)

[Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/)

> [A man who's never seen war is like a woman who's never given birth - soft in the head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-platonov/a-man-who-s-never-seen-war-is-like-a-woman-who-s-never-given-birth/)

[Andrei Platonov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-platonov/)

> [The facts of life are that a child who has seen war cannot be compared with a child who doesn't know what war is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophia-loren/the-facts-of-life-are-that-a-child-who-has-seen-war-cannot-be/)

[Sophia Loren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophia-loren/)

> [As someone who has seen war first hand, and as a father of three young adults, it was my hope that we could have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-boyd/as-someone-who-has-seen-war-first-hand-and-as-a-father-of-three-young/)

[Allen Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-boyd/)

> [“I have seen war. I have seen war on land and see, I have seen blood running from the wounded, I have seen children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-d-r/i-have-seen-war-i-have-seen-war-on-land-and-see-i-have-seen-blood/)

F.d.r

> [“In the last 3,421 years of recorded history, only 268 have seen no war”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant-1968/in-the-last-3-421-years-of-recorded-history-only-268-have-seen-no-war/)

Will Durant 1968

> [“Every course of action you take in life needs to be seen as a war. Why? Simply put, you will be exerting effort, expending…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-d-jensen/every-course-of-action-you-take-in-life-needs-to-be-seen-as-a-war-why/)

Anthony D. Jensen

> [“He goes on and on about war like it is something beautiful and noble, which only means he's never seen it himself. War is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-diamant/he-goes-on-and-on-about-war-like-it-is-something-beautiful-and-noble/)

[Anita Diamant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-diamant/)

## More by Thomas Jefferson

> [A man has a right to use a saw, an axe, a plane, separately; may he not combine their uses on the same piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-man-has-a-right-to-use-a-saw-an-axe-a-plane-separately-may-he-not/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [ \[States and the Federal government are\] coordinate departments of one simple and integral whole... The one is the domestic, the other the foreign branch… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/states-and-the-federal-government-are-coordinate-departments-of-one/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [I am for freedom of religion, and against all maneuvers to bring about a legal ascendency of one sect over another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-am-for-freedom-of-religion-and-against-all-maneuvers-to-bring-about/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [Single acts of tyranny may be ascribed to the accidental opinion of a day; but a series of oppressions, begun at a distinguished period…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/single-acts-of-tyranny-may-be-ascribed-to-the-accidental-opinion-of-a/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [“Perceiving the order of nature to be that individual happiness shall be inseparable from the practice of virtue, I am willing to hope it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/perceiving-the-order-of-nature-to-be-that-individual-happiness-shall/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [Free government is founded in jealousy, and not in confidence; it is jealousy, and not confidence, which prescribes limited constitutions, to bind down those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/free-government-is-founded-in-jealousy-and-not-in-confidence-it-is/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [Though you cannot see, when you take one step, what will be the next, yet follow truth, justice, and plain dealing, and never fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/though-you-cannot-see-when-you-take-one-step-what-will-be-the-next/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [A well informed citizenry is the best defense against tyranny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-well-informed-citizenry-is-the-best-defense-against-tyranny/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [The two principles on which our conduct towards the Indians should be founded are justice and fear. After the injuries we have done them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-two-principles-on-which-our-conduct-towards-the-indians-should-be/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [Knowledge is power...knowled ge is safety...knowle dge is happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/knowledge-is-power-knowled-ge-is-safety-knowle-dge-is-happiness/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [There is... an artificial aristocracy founded on wealth and birth, without either virtue or talents... The artificial aristocracy is a mischievous ingredient in government,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/there-is-an-artificial-aristocracy-founded-on-wealth-and-birth/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [Nothing but free argument, raillery and even ridicule will preserve the purity of religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/nothing-but-free-argument-raillery-and-even-ridicule-will-preserve/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [When the people are afraid of the government, that's tyranny. But when the government is afraid of the people, that's liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/when-the-people-are-afraid-of-the-government-that-s-tyranny-but-when/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/we-hold-these-truths-to-be-self-evident-that-all-men-are-created/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

[Explore all 2,098 Thomas Jefferson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

## More Enough quotes

> [I guess at it's very core love is connection that just makes so much sense you wonder how you used to live before you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-stone/i-guess-at-it-s-very-core-love-is-connection-that-just-makes-so-much/)

[Benjamin Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-stone/)

> [Failures happen. You can't cry over them. You just take it in your stride because you know that you have done your best... Sometimes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-dutta/failures-happen-you-can-t-cry-over-them-you-just-take-it-in-your/)

[Divya Dutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-dutta/)

> [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/)

Adam Ant

> [I've been lucky enough to, for the most part, surround myself with a lot of people who are more talented than me and who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-franco/i-ve-been-lucky-enough-to-for-the-most-part-surround-myself-with-a/)

[Dave Franco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-franco/)

> [I love because there is not enough room in my heart to hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rena-kornreich-gelissen/i-love-because-there-is-not-enough-room-in-my-heart-to-hate/)

Rena Kornreich Gelissen

> [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/)

[John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/)

> [Sometimes it's just enough for me to have the idea. I don't need to see it through to the end. When it actually happens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sedaris/sometimes-it-s-just-enough-for-me-to-have-the-idea-i-don-t-need-to/)

[Amy Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sedaris/)

> [The vast majority of organizations today have more than enough intelligence, experience and knowledge to be successful. What they lack is organizational health.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-lencioni/the-vast-majority-of-organizations-today-have-more-than-enough/)

[Patrick Lencioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-lencioni/)

> [I'm an actor, so I'm never going to feel like I've done enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italia-ricci/i-m-an-actor-so-i-m-never-going-to-feel-like-i-ve-done-enough/)

[Italia Ricci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italia-ricci/)

> [I've been to Manchester enough to know it's a real place. It's not Factory Records and the Smiths bicycling around. I get it. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-murphy/i-ve-been-to-manchester-enough-to-know-it-s-a-real-place-it-s-not/)

[James Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-murphy/)

> [Lutherans, whose arguments and mistakes will not be difficult to contest or discover, do not want to attribute any value to works, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-servetus/lutherans-whose-arguments-and-mistakes-will-not-be-difficult-to/)

[Michael Servetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-servetus/)

> [Sam dropped me off. When she was too far away to see me, I started to cry again. Because she was my friend again.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-chbosky/sam-dropped-me-off-when-she-was-too-far-away-to-see-me-i-started-to/)

[Stephen Chbosky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-chbosky/)

> [I just worried about my weight. Worried about my appearance and thought I wan't pretty enough to be a pop star. It was very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-durham/i-just-worried-about-my-weight-worried-about-my-appearance-and/)

[Judith Durham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-durham/)

> [I don't want this to be a distraction. This has been distracting enough. I'm not going to rehash this going forward. I'm sure other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayson-werth/i-don-t-want-this-to-be-a-distraction-this-has-been-distracting/)

[Jayson Werth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayson-werth/)

> [New York is large, glamorous, easy-going, kindly and incurious, but above all it is a crucible - because it is large enough to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/new-york-is-large-glamorous-easy-going-kindly-and-incurious-but-above/)

[Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/)

Browse all 23,898 Enough quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I have seen enough of one war never to wish to see another.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Thomas Jefferson"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-have-seen-enough-of-one-war-never-to-wish-to-see-another/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Enough"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-have-seen-enough-of-one-war-never-to-wish-to-see-another/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f1/thomas-jefferson-43_enough_i-have-seen-enough-of-one-war-never-to-w_254621.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f1/thomas-jefferson-43_enough_i-have-seen-enough-of-one-war-never-to-w_254621.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f1/thomas-jefferson-43_enough_i-have-seen-enough-of-one-war-never-to-w_254621.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I have seen enough of one war never to wish to see another.” — Thomas Jefferson",
                "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": "Thomas Jefferson",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I have seen enough of one...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-have-seen-enough-of-one-war-never-to-wish-to-see-another/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-have-seen-enough-of-one-war-never-to-wish-to-see-another/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
