--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is neither a foreign war nor a…" description: "\"There is neither a foreign war nor a civil war; there is only just and unjust war.\" — Victor Hugo" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ee/victor-hugo-32_civil-war_there-is-neither-a-foreign-war-nor-a-civ_2522846.jpg" --- # There is neither a foreign war nor a civil war; there is… ![“There is neither a foreign war nor a civil war; there is only just and unjust war.” quote by Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ee/victor-hugo-32_civil-war_there-is-neither-a-foreign-war-nor-a-civ_2522846.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ee/victor-hugo-32_civil-war_there-is-neither-a-foreign-war-nor-a-civ_2522846.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ee/victor-hugo-32_civil-war_there-is-neither-a-foreign-war-nor-a-civ_2522846.jpg) > “There is neither a foreign war nor a civil war; there is only just and unjust war.” [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. War is categorized by moral rightness, not by its origin as foreign or civil. **In simple terms:** War is just or unjust, not foreign or civil. Key Takeaway Judge war by justice, not geography. Themes morality war justice Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical political When to use this quote - political debate - military strategy - human rights activism Key Concepts just war theory ethical evaluation Questions to Reflect On - How do we determine a war's justice? - Can a civil conflict be just? A Different Perspective War classifications can be oversimplified, ignoring complex causes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civil war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-war/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/) [Unjust war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unjust-war/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [War can only be qualified by its object, and there is neither foreign war nor civil war, there is only just or unjust war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/war-can-only-be-qualified-by-its-object-and-there-is-neither-foreign/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [When war is not just it is subsequently justified; so it becomes many things. In reality, an unjust war is merely piracy. It consists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-war-is-not-just-it-is-subsequently-justified-so-it-becomes-many/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“By the end of the war, the Civil War had become a forerunner to the trench warfare of World War I, and if an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-river-editors/by-the-end-of-the-war-the-civil-war-had-become-a-forerunner-to-the/) [Charles River Editors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-river-editors/) > [Now that I've seen what war is, what civil war is, I know that everybody, if one day it should end, ought to ask…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/now-that-i-ve-seen-what-war-is-what-civil-war-is-i-know-that/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [Borrowers are nearly always ill-spenders, and it is with lent money that all evil is mainly done and all unjust war protracted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/borrowers-are-nearly-always-ill-spenders-and-it-is-with-lent-money/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [I've been there for so many crossroads in American history. My whole political life spans the birth of the environmental movement, the women's movement,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-boxer/i-ve-been-there-for-so-many-crossroads-in-american-history-my-whole/) [Barbara Boxer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-boxer/) > [I abhor unjust war. I abhor injustice and bullying by the strong at the expense of the weak, whether among nations or individuals. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/i-abhor-unjust-war-i-abhor-injustice-and-bullying-by-the-strong-at/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Unjust war is to be abhorred; but woe to the nation that does not make ready to hold its own in time of need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/unjust-war-is-to-be-abhorred-but-woe-to-the-nation-that-does-not-make/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [For so great is the difference between just and unjust, that it is visible even in the lifeless image of it. 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Nothing you can do but turn your collar up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-r-carey/it-rains-on-the-just-and-the-unjust-nothing-you-can-do-but-turn-your/) [M.R. Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-r-carey/) > [“All that exists is just and unjust and is equally justified in both respects.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/all-that-exists-is-just-and-unjust-and-is-equally-justified-in-both/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I suppose it doesn't occur to you that I can think the system just as unjust as you do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malorie-blackman/i-suppose-it-doesn-t-occur-to-you-that-i-can-think-the-system-just-as/) [Malorie Blackman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malorie-blackman/) ## More by Victor Hugo > [Houses are like the human beings that inhabit them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/houses-are-like-the-human-beings-that-inhabit-them/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“There is still a certain grace in a dead festival. It has been happy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/there-is-still-a-certain-grace-in-a-dead-festival-it-has-been-happy/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“First I loved women, then animals, and now I love stones. They're just as amusing as women and animals and they're much less trecherous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/first-i-loved-women-then-animals-and-now-i-love-stones-they-re-just/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Nature is pitiless; she never withdraws her flowers, her music, her fragrance, and her sunlight from before human cruelty or suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/nature-is-pitiless-she-never-withdraws-her-flowers-her-music-her/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Have courage for the great sorrows of life, and patience for the small ones. And when you have finished your daily task, go to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/have-courage-for-the-great-sorrows-of-life-and-patience-for-the-small/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [The peasants of the Asturias believe that in every litter of wolves there is one pup that is killed by the mother for fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/the-peasants-of-the-asturias-believe-that-in-every-litter-of-wolves/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Great blunders are often made, like large ropes, of a multitude of fibres.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/great-blunders-are-often-made-like-large-ropes-of-a-multitude-of/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“For love is like a tree; it grows of itself; it send its roots deep into our being, and often continues to grow green…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/for-love-is-like-a-tree-it-grows-of-itself-it-send-its-roots-deep/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Blacheville smiles with the self-satisfied smugness of a man whose vanity is tickled”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/blacheville-smiles-with-the-self-satisfied-smugness-of-a-man-whose/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Loving in ignorance, she loved with all the more passion. She did not know whether it was good or evil, beneficent or dangerous, necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/loving-in-ignorance-she-loved-with-all-the-more-passion-she-did-not/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/laughter-is-the-sun-that-drives-winter-from-the-human-face/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Our joys have shadows. The perfect smile belongs to God alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/our-joys-have-shadows-the-perfect-smile-belongs-to-god-alone/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“When those we love are in question, our prudence invents every sort of madness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/when-those-we-love-are-in-question-our-prudence-invents-every-sort-of/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Love is a fault; so be it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/love-is-a-fault-so-be-it/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) [Explore all 2,181 Victor Hugo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) ## More Civil war quotes > [“Time overlaps itself. 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The price rose to about $3,000 per man during the Napoleonic wars;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer-bone/it-cost-about-75-cents-to-kill-a-man-in-ceasar-s-time-the-price-rose/) Homer Bone > [Alabama soldiers, all I ask of you is to keep up with the Texans!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-lee/alabama-soldiers-all-i-ask-of-you-is-to-keep-up-with-the-texans/) [Robert E. 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Say just what you mean to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-lee/you-must-study-to-be-frank-with-the-world-frankness-is-the-child-of/) [Robert E. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-lee/) > [“Civil wars...are the best wars for the writer...because they have a way of continuing long afterwl wars between nations are resolved; because, with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/civil-wars-are-the-best-wars-for-the-writer-because-they-have-a-way/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [I am out of money,we are all out of money,but we dont need money down here- Dont need anything but Men , Muskets, Ammunition,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-connolly/i-am-out-of-money-we-are-all-out-of-money-but-we-dont-need-money-down/) James A. Connolly > [Affirmative action was designed to recognize the uniquely difficult journey of African-Americans. 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