--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is something in a war carried on by…" description: "\"“There is something in a war carried on by invasion which makes it differ in circumstances from any other mode of war, because he who conducts it canno..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ad/thomas-paine-267_invasion_there-is-something-in-a-war-carried-on-b_1195512.png" --- # There is something in a war carried on by invasion which… ![“There is something in a war carried on by invasion which makes it differ in circumstances from any other mode of war, because he who conducts it cannot tell whether the ground he gains be for him, or against him, when her first obtains it.” quote by Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ad/thomas-paine-267_invasion_there-is-something-in-a-war-carried-on-b_1195512.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ad/thomas-paine-267_invasion_there-is-something-in-a-war-carried-on-b_1195512.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ad/thomas-paine-267_invasion_there-is-something-in-a-war-carried-on-b_1195512.png) > ““There is something in a war carried on by invasion which makes it differ in circumstances from any other mode of war, because he who conducts it cannot tell whether the ground he gains be for him, or against him, when her first obtains it.”” [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. War of invasion creates uncertainty about whether gains benefit the invader or the defender, blurring moral and strategic clarity. **In simple terms:** Invasion wars are ambiguous about who truly benefits. Key Takeaway Question motives and outcomes of aggressive actions. Themes war ethics strategy Mood cautious analytical Type historical political When to use this quote - military planning - policy making - public debate - historical analysis Key Concepts Moral ambiguity political calculus Questions to Reflect On - How do you assess who truly benefits from a conflict? - What ethical frameworks guide decisions in invasive wars? A Different Perspective Assumes all invasions are similar, ignoring defensive wars. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Carried Invasion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carried-invasion-3563790/) [Differ Circumstances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differ-circumstances-3563791/) [Invasion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invasion/) [Military-philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/military-philosophy/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [War Carried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war-carried-461199/) [War Conducts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war-conducts-3563789/) ## Related quotes > [War should be carried on like a monsoon; one changeless determination of every particle towards the one unalterable aim.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/war-should-be-carried-on-like-a-monsoon-one-changeless-determination/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [Modern politics is civil war carried on by other means.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alasdair-macintyre/modern-politics-is-civil-war-carried-on-by-other-means/) [Alasdair MacIntyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alasdair-macintyre/) > [Let war be so carried on that no other object may seem to be sought but the acquisition of peace. \[Lat., Bellum autem ita…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/let-war-be-so-carried-on-that-no-other-object-may-seem-to-be-sought/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [“Foreknowledge cannot be gotten from ghosts and spirits, cannot be had by analogy, cannot be found out by calculation. It must be obtained from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/foreknowledge-cannot-be-gotten-from-ghosts-and-spirits-cannot-be-had/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [“It's hard to win a war with a front at your back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-s-close/it-s-hard-to-win-a-war-with-a-front-at-your-back/) [Gregory S. Close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-s-close/) > [“Nothing but sunrise and sunsetting Men fighting the things that are- Birthgiving and bloodletting And a drunk god snoring afar.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-levin/nothing-but-sunrise-and-sunsetting-men-fighting-the-things-that-are/) [Dan Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-levin/) > [“Never leap into battle, when you may come quietly to victory at a walk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-s-close/never-leap-into-battle-when-you-may-come-quietly-to-victory-at-a-walk/) [Gregory S. Close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-s-close/) > [“Interestingly, when they are on our side, we usually refer to them as guerrillas or partisans or freedom fighters. When they, the men in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-couch/interestingly-when-they-are-on-our-side-we-usually-refer-to-them-as/) [Dick Couch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-couch/) > [“You know that when ex-military personnel start assassinating their own government's agents that something funky is going on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/you-know-that-when-ex-military-personnel-start-assassinating-their/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [“Certainly, I believed that our democratic system of government was the best thing going. I was a flag-waver from way back. I was proud…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cezar/certainly-i-believed-that-our-democratic-system-of-government-was-the/) [Richard Cezar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cezar/) > [“What is the difference? Tell me what is the difference between you and me. We both kill for what we want," the man asks.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brittany-noel-bostic/what-is-the-difference-tell-me-what-is-the-difference-between-you-and/) [Brittany Noel Bostic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brittany-noel-bostic/) > [“ASSertive, ill-informed, and misguided leadership at the expense of organizational morale, climate, soldier well-being, and taking care of a soldier's support system isn't leadership…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donavan-nelson-butler-master-sergeant-us-army/assertive-ill-informed-and-misguided-leadership-at-the-expense-of/) [Donavan Nelson Butler, Master Sergeant US Army](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donavan-nelson-butler-master-sergeant-us-army/) > [“As the demands of the positions differed, and as I grew in age and experience, I found that I had changed as a leader.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-mcchrystal/as-the-demands-of-the-positions-differed-and-as-i-grew-in-age-and/) [Stanley McChrystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-mcchrystal/) > [“The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. Was war just a power game for an elite few? Did the loss of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cezar/the-more-i-thought-about-it-the-angrier-i-got-was-war-just-a-power/) [Richard Cezar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cezar/) > [“Maybe I trust you to be a man and handle the gray reality of truth better than all these kids who still think in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyn-gala/maybe-i-trust-you-to-be-a-man-and-handle-the-gray-reality-of-truth/) [Lyn Gala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyn-gala/) ## More by Thomas Paine > [“No man is prejudiced in favour of a thing, knowing it to be wrong. He is attached to it on the belief of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/no-man-is-prejudiced-in-favour-of-a-thing-knowing-it-to-be-wrong-he/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [“The laws of every country must be analogous to some common principle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/the-laws-of-every-country-must-be-analogous-to-some-common-principle/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [The book called the Bible has been voted by men, and decreed by human laws to be the word of God; and the disbelief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/the-book-called-the-bible-has-been-voted-by-men-and-decreed-by-human/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/to-argue-with-a-person-who-has-renounced-the-use-of-reason-is-like/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [One would think that a system loaded with such gross and vulgar absurdities as Scripture religion is could never have obtained credit; yet we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/one-would-think-that-a-system-loaded-with-such-gross-and-vulgar/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Commerce diminishes the spirit, both of patriotism and military defence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/commerce-diminishes-the-spirit-both-of-patriotism-and-military-defence/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [What is it the Bible teaches us? - raping, cruelty, and murder. What is it the New Testament teaches us? - to believe that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/what-is-it-the-bible-teaches-us-raping-cruelty-and-murder-what-is-it/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/those-who-expect-to-reap-the-blessings-of-freedom-must-like-men/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [“It has been the practice of all Christian commentators on the Bible, and of all Christian priests and preachers, to impose the Bible on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/it-has-been-the-practice-of-all-christian-commentators-on-the-bible/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [But there are times when men have serious thoughts, and it is at such times, when they begin to think, that they begin to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/but-there-are-times-when-men-have-serious-thoughts-and-it-is-at-such/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Wisdom is not the purchase of a day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/wisdom-is-not-the-purchase-of-a-day/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Our citizenship in the United States is our national character. Our citizenship in any particular state is only our local distinction. By the latter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/our-citizenship-in-the-united-states-is-our-national-character-our/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Suspicion is the companion of mean souls, and the bane of all good society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/suspicion-is-the-companion-of-mean-souls-and-the-bane-of-all-good/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [“To pass from the extremes of danger to safety-from the tumult of war to the tranquility of peace, though sweet in contemplation, requires a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/to-pass-from-the-extremes-of-danger-to-safety-from-the-tumult-of-war/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [What more does man want to know than that the hand or power that made these things is divine, is omnipotent? Let him believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/what-more-does-man-want-to-know-than-that-the-hand-or-power-that-made/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) [Explore all 772 Thomas Paine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) ## More Invasion quotes > [Nations sometimes flourish by denying the crimes that brought them into being. Only when the original invasion, occupation, extermination or usurpation has been safely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/nations-sometimes-flourish-by-denying-the-crimes-that-brought-them/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [It might interest you that just as the U.S. was ramping up its involvement in Vietnam, LBJ launched an illegal invasion of the Dominican…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/it-might-interest-you-that-just-as-the-u-s-was-ramping-up-its/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [I don't believe anyone that I know in the administration ever said that Iraq had nuclear weapons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/i-don-t-believe-anyone-that-i-know-in-the-administration-ever-said/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [The behavior and reactions of the oppressed, which lead the oppressor to practice cultural invasion, should evoke from the revolutionary a different theory of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/the-behavior-and-reactions-of-the-oppressed-which-lead-the-oppressor/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) > [As far as I can tell, the only unambiguous consequence of the claimed invasion of Earth by beings from another star system has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/as-far-as-i-can-tell-the-only-unambiguous-consequence-of-the-claimed/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Oh, I think country has changed tremendously. I think country has totally changed. Country music when I was a kid was Hank Williams. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mellencamp/oh-i-think-country-has-changed-tremendously-i-think-country-has/) [John Mellencamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mellencamp/) > [To prove that tuberculosis is caused by the invasion of bacilli, and that it is a parasitic disease primarily caused by the growth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-koch/to-prove-that-tuberculosis-is-caused-by-the-invasion-of-bacilli-and/) [Robert Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-koch/) > [Most white Americans only discovered the blues with the British invasion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronnie-wood/most-white-americans-only-discovered-the-blues-with-the-british/) [Ronnie Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronnie-wood/) > [“Archie wasn't waiting for her at the attic. She didn't consider that. He was probably giving her time to set and collect a trap,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perie-wolford/archie-wasn-t-waiting-for-her-at-the-attic-she-didn-t-consider-that/) [Perie Wolford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perie-wolford/) > [Iran has little capacity to deploy force. Its strategic doctrines are defensive, designed to deter invasion long enough for diplomacy to set it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/iran-has-little-capacity-to-deploy-force-its-strategic-doctrines-are/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Once you stop talking about the female body empowering itself vis-à-vis male forays or invasions or male demands or the necessity to respond to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/once-you-stop-talking-about-the-female-body-empowering-itself-vis-vis/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [I vote Democrat because I'm way too irresponsible to own a gun, and I know that my local police are all I need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/i-vote-democrat-because-i-m-way-too-irresponsible-to-own-a-gun-and-i/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [Yes, I do not like people saying that atheism is based on science, because it's not. It's an alien invasion of science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-woese/yes-i-do-not-like-people-saying-that-atheism-is-based-on-science/) [Carl Woese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-woese/) > [The invasion of Iraq was simply a war crime. Straight-out war crime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-invasion-of-iraq-was-simply-a-war-crime-straight-out-war-crime/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Like the panic stricken populace of 'The War of the Worlds' and countless other 1950s invasion movies, the victims are there to provide the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-tudor/like-the-panic-stricken-populace-of-the-war-of-the-worlds-and/) [Andrew Tudor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-tudor/) [Browse all 460 Invasion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invasion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There is something in a war carried on by invasion which makes it differ in circumstances from any other mode of war, because he who conducts it cannot tell whether the ground he gains be for him, or against him, when her first obtains it.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Paine" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/there-is-something-in-a-war-carried-on-by-invasion-which-makes-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Invasion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/there-is-something-in-a-war-carried-on-by-invasion-which-makes-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ad/thomas-paine-267_invasion_there-is-something-in-a-war-carried-on-b_1195512.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ad/thomas-paine-267_invasion_there-is-something-in-a-war-carried-on-b_1195512.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ad/thomas-paine-267_invasion_there-is-something-in-a-war-carried-on-b_1195512.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is something in a war carried on by invasion which makes it differ in circumstances from any other…” — Thomas Paine", "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 Paine", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“There is something in a war...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/there-is-something-in-a-war-carried-on-by-invasion-which-makes-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/there-is-something-in-a-war-carried-on-by-invasion-which-makes-it/#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 } } ] } ```