Stephen Fry Quotes

In time of peace prepare for war.

He that makes war without many mistakes has not made war very long.

The first, the supreme, the most far-reaching act of judgment that the statesman and commander have to make is to establish ... the kind of war on which they are embarking.

In all their wars against the French they [the Americans] never showed such conduct, attention and perseverance as they do now.

Success in warfare is gained by carefully accommodating ourselves to the enemy's purpose.

The only hope of a short war is to prepare for a long one.

It is a common mistake in going to war to begin at the wrong end, to act first, and wait for disasters to discuss the matter.

The art of war in its highest point of view is policy.

It is only one who is thoroughly acquainted with the evils of war that can thoroughly understand the profitable way of carrying it on.

Blunders are an inescapable feature of war, because choice in military affairs lies generally between the bad and the worse.

The art of war is of vital importance to the state. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.

War should be the only study of a prince. He should consider peace only as a breathing-time, which gives him leisure to contrive, and furnishes as ability to execute, military plans.

To secure peace is to prepare for war.

I have always had a keen interest in defence and military history and read more on this subject than anything else.

It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.

The idea that a war can be won by standing on the defensive and waiting for the enemy to attack is a dangerous fallacy, which owes its inception to the desire to evade the price of victory.

It can’t be any other than madness to commence hostilities before we have established resources on a sure plan for certain and effectual military supplies. Men in that case will not be wanting.

The military mind always imagines that the next war will be on the same lines as the last.

There is no shorter road to defeat than by entering a war with inadequate preparation.

Strategy is the most important department of the art of war, and strategical skill is the highest and rarest function of military genius.

If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.

You cannot prevent and prepare for war at the same time.

I have every confidence in the ultimate success of our joint cause; but success in modern war requires something more than courage and a willingness to die: it requires careful preparation.

In peace, a wise man makes preparations for war.

Hostile armies may face each other for years, striving for the victory which is decided in a single day. This being so, to remain in ignorance of the enemy's condition simply because one grudges the outlay of a hundred ounces of silver in honors and emoluments, is the height of inhumanity.