Marcus Tullius Cicero Quotes

We have to start from the fact that there are always alternatives to violence.

Peace by persuasion has a pleasant sound, but I think we should not be able to work it. We should have to tame the human race first, and history seems to show that that cannot be done.

Violence is not the only means of persuasion.

No problem is so deep that it cannot be overcome, given the will of all parties, through discussion and negotiation rather than force and violence.

There should be an honest attempt at the reconciliation of differences before resorting to combat.

Violence is my last option.

There never was a time when, in my opinion, some way could not be found to prevent the drawing of the sword.

What you need to do in conflict resolution is to bring the people who believe that the answer to their political ambitions will be achieved through violence into a frame of mind that they accept that their political ambitions will be delivered by politics.

There is nothing that war has ever achieved that we could not better achieve without it.

The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.

Guns and blockades are not conducive to meaningful dialogue.

Always remember, politics is a substitute for violence.

There is no such thing as a conflict that can’t be ended. Conflicts are started by human beings, sustained by human beings, and they can be ended by human beings.

The violent will not come to a natural end.

We shall use only peaceful means and we shall not permit any other kind of method.

You cannot have peaceful means - peaceful means will have to be used to bring about peaceful ends. If you use destructive means, you're going to bring about destructive ends.

To fight and conquer in all our battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.

Our aim is not to do things by violence to opponents.

Politics is a substitute for violence.

If there are sound reasons or bases for the points you demand, then there is no need for violence. On the other hand, when there is no sound reason that concessions should be made to you but mainly your own desire, then reason cannot work and you have to rely on force. Thus using force is not a sign of strength but rather a sign of weakness.

War is the admission of defeat in the face of conflicting interests.

Peace is never a perfect achievement.

You'll get more from being a peacemaker than a warrior.

War is not an accident. It is the logical outcome of a certain way of life.

I have been apt to think that there has never been, nor ever will be, any such thing as a good war, or a bad peace.