Peace comes from being able to contribute the best that we have, and all that we are, toward creating a world that supports everyone. But it is also securing the space for others to contribute the best that they have and all that they are.

      -- Hafsat Abiola

 

In some ways, the challenges are even more daunting than they were at the peak of the cold war. Not only do we continue to face grave nuclear threats, but those threats are being compounded by new weapons developments, new violence within States and new challenges to the rule of law.

      -- Kofi Annan

 

There is no trust more sacred than the one the world holds with children. There is no duty more important than ensuring that their rights are respected, that their welfare is protected, that their lives are free from fear and want and that they grow up in peace.

       -- Kofi Annan

 

Peace is the marriage of the people and the planet, with all attendant vows.

      -- Anonymous

 

The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells the Great Spirit, and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us.

      -- Black Elk (1863 -1950)

 

Three can be no beauty if it paid for by human injustice, nor truth that passes over injustice in silence, nor moral virtue that condones it.

       -- Tadeusz Borowski

 

There is no time left for anything but to make peacework a dimension of our every waking activity.

      -- Elise Boulding

 

Democracy is an objective. Democratization is a process. Democratization serves the cause of peace because it offers the possibility of justice and of progressive change without force.

      -- Boutros Boutros-Ghali

 

Better than a thousand hollow words is one word that brings peace.

      -- Buddha (560 - 483 B.C.)

 

Peace, to have meaning for many who have only known suffering in both peace and war, must be translated into bread or rice, shelter, health and education, as well as freedom and human dignity.

      -- Ralph Johnson Bunche (1904 -1971)

 

Do you know what astonished me most in the world? The inability of force to create anything. In the long run the sword is always beaten by the spirit. Soldiers usually win battles and generals get the credit for them. You must not fight too often with one enemy, or you will teach him all your art of war. If they want peace, nations should avoid the pin-pricks that precede cannon shots.

      -- Napoleon Bonaparte (1769 -1821)

 

Peace is the only battle worth waging.

      -- Albert Camus (1913 -1960)

 

We know how to organize warfare, but do we know how to act when confronted with peace?

      -- Jacques-Yves Cousteau (1910 -1997)

 

In peace the sons bury their fathers, but in war the fathers bury their sons.

      -- Croesus*

 

Human Beings, indeed all sentient beings, have the right to pursue happiness and live in peace and freedom.

      -- The XIVth Dalai Lama

 

Peace, in the sense of the absence of war, is of little value to someone who is dying of hunger or cold. It will not remove the pain of torture inflicted on a prisoner of conscience. It does not comfort those who have lost their loved ones in floods caused by senseless deforestation in a neighboring country. Peace can only last where human rights are respected, where people are fed, and where individuals and nations are free.

      -- The XIVth Dalai Lama

 

If you want to make peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies.

      -- Moshe Dayan (1915 -1981)

 

For everything there is a season,

And a time for every matter under heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die;

A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal;

A time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh;

A time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to seek, and a time to lose;

A time to keep, and a time to throw away;

A time to tear, and a time to sew;

A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate,

A time for war, and a time for peace.

-- Ecclesiastes 3:1-8*

 

Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding.

      -- Albert Einstein (1979 -1955)

 

We must begin to inoculate our children against militarism by educating them...I would rather teach peace than war, love rather than hate.

      -- Albert Einstein (1979 -1955)

 

There can be no peace without law.

      -- Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890 -1969)

 

I like to believe that people in the long run are going to do more to promote peace than our governments. Indeed, I think that people want peace so much that one of these days governments had better get out of the way and let them have it.

       -- Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890 -1969)

 

Peace cannot be achieved through violence, it can only be attained through understanding.

      -- Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 -1882)

 

The most disadvantageous peace is better than the most just war.

      -- Desiderius Erasmus (1469 -1536)

 

There was never a good war or a bad peace.  -- Benjamin Franklin

 

 You can't shake hands with a clenched fist.

    -- Indira Gandhi*

 

"If we are to reach real peace in the world, we shall have to begin with the children."

      -- Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869 -1948)

 

It is possible to live in peace.

      -- Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869 -1948)

 

I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.

      -- Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869 -1948)

 

It is easier to lead men to combat, stirring up their passion, than to restrain them and direct them toward the patient labors of peace.

      -- Andre Gide (1869 -1951)

 

We look forward to the time when the Power of Love will replace the Love of Power. Then will our world know the blessings of peace.

      -- William Gladstone (1809 -1898)

 

Peace is every step.

      -- Thich Nhat Hahn

 

If we are peaceful, if we are happy, we can smile and blossom like a flower, and everyone in our family, our entire society, will benefit from our peace. 

      -- Thich Nhat Hanh

 

Peace-making is a healing process and it begins with me, but it does not end there.

 -- Gene Knudsen Hoffman

 

Peace is not achieved by controlling nations, but mastering our thoughts.

      -- John Harricharan

 

When the world desires the power of love more than the love of power, then it will know peace. Another version is: When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace

      -- Jimmy Hendrix*

 

*The above quote attributed to Jimi Hendrix may be a derivative of a quote from Sri Chinmoy Kumar Ghose, an Indian spiritual leader.

The goal toward which all history tends is peace, not peace through the medium of war, not peace through a process of universal intimidation, not peace through a program of mutual impoverishment, not peace by any means that leaves the world too weak or too frightened to go on fighting, but peace pure and simple based on that will to peace which has animated the overwhelming majority of mankind through countless ages. This will to peace does not arise out of a cowardly desire to preserve one's life and property, but out of conviction that the fullest development of the highest powers of men can be achieved only in a world of peace.

      -- Robert Maynard Hutchins (1899 -1977)

 

Nothing is more precious than peace. Peace is the most basic starting point for the advancement of humankind.

      -- Daisaku Ikeda

 

They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

      -- Isaiah, II:4

 

'I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.'

      -- Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826)

 

Peace is the respect for the rights of others. (El respeto al derecho ajeno es la paz ).

[The] Bank of the United States... is one of the most deadly hostility existing, against the principles and form of our Constitution... An institution like this, penetrating by its branches every part of the Union, acting by command and in phalanx, may, in a critical moment, upset the government. I deem no government safe which is under the vassalage of any self-constituted authorities, or any other authority than that of the nation, or its regular functionaries.

     -- Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826)

 

Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children (sons) of God.

      -- Jesus - Matthew 5:9

 

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

      -- Jesus - John 13:34

 

But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.

      -- Jesus - Luke 6:27-28

 

But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High.

 -- Jesus - Luke 6:35

 

You have heard it said of old, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, but I say unto you, do not resist the evil person. If he strikes you on the left, turn to him the right.

       -- Jesus - Matt 5:38.39

 

You have heard it said of old, Love your friends, but hate your enemies. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that persecute you, in order for you to become the children of your Father who is in heaven.

       -- Jesus - Matt 5:43-45

 

After Peter cut off the ear of a palace guard, Jesus immediately healed the soldier, and then told Peter to put the weapon back in its place, because whoever would live by a weapon will die by a weapon. Apostle Paul likewise said, “Overcome evil with good.” Rom 12:21. War is not overcoming evil with good, but increasing the flames of evil with more war.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.

       -- Jesus - John 14:27

 

Nations of this world seek a strong military, to scare others from attacking, to defend themselves militarily if attacked, and to attack others. But the peace of Jesus of Nazareth is no military, no nation to should possess a military. True peace on earth with good will toward men will occur when no nation has a military. It will be difficult to be a conscientious objector because you are the minority and you will be labeled a traitor, a coward, unpatriotic, and not willing to serve your country as others have done. Jesus knew that it would not be easy, just as he said, “If any person will follow me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Matt 16:24

 

  -- Benito Juarez (1806 - 1872)

 

A truly free society must not include a "peace" which oppresses us. We must learn on our own terms what peace and freedom mean together. There can be no peace if there is social injustice and suppression of human rights, because external and internal peace are inseparable. Peace.is not just the absence of mass destruction, but a positive internal and external condition in which people are free so that they can grow to their full potential.

      -- Petra Karin Kelly (1947 - 1992)

 

But peace does not rest in the charters and covenants alone. It lies in the hearts and minds of all people. So let us not rest all our hopes on parchment and on paper, let us strive to build peace, a desire for peace, a willingness to work for peace in the hearts and minds of all of our people. I believe that we can. I believe the problems of human destiny are not beyond the reach of human beings.

      -- John F. Kennedy (1917 - 1963)

 

Unconditional war can no longer lead to unconditional victory. It can no longer serve to settle disputes. It can no longer be of concern to great powers alone. For a nuclear disaster, spread by winds and waters and fear, could well engulf the great and the small, the rich and the poor, the committed and the uncommitted alike. Mankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to mankind.

     -- John F. Kennedy (1917 - 1963)

 

Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance. (Day of Affirmation Address in Capetown, South Africa on June 6, 1966).

-- Robert F. Kennedy (1925 - 1968)

 

We will not build a peaceful world by following a negative path. It is not enough to say we must not wage war. It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it. We must concentrate not merely on the negative expulsion of war but on the positive affirmation of peace. We must see that peace represents a sweeter music, a cosmic melody, that is far superior to the discords of war. Somehow, we must transform the dynamics of the world power struggle from the negative nuclear arms race, which no one can win, to a positive contest to harness humanity's creative genius for the purpose of making peace and prosperity a reality for all the nations of the world. In short, we must shift the arms race into a peace race. If we have a will - and determination - to mount such a peace offensive, we will unlock hitherto tightly sealed doors of hope and transform our imminent cosmic elegy into a psalm of creative fulfillment.

      -- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929 - 1968)

 

One day we must come to see that peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but that it is a means by which we arrive at that goal. We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means.

      -- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929 - 1968)

 

I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits.

      -- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929 - 1968)

 

Each of us by our daily acts of peace and our commitment to building a better world can inspire others and help create a groundswell for peace too powerful to be turned aside.

     -- David Krieger, Ph.D.*

 

Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the gatekeepers of the future. The world we bequeath to our children and grandchildren will depend upon our success in building a more peaceful and decent world.

     -- David Krieger, Ph.D.*

"I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts."

      -- Abraham Lincoln

 

All we are saying is give peace a chance.

      -- John Lennon (1940 - 1980)

 

If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there'd be peace.

      -- John Lennon (1940 - 1980)

 

As things are now going the peace we make, what peace we seem to be making, will be a peace of oil, a peace of gold, a peace of shipping, a peace in brief.without moral purpose or human interest.

      -- Archibald MacLeish (1907 - 1982)

 

Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God.

      -- Matthew, V:9

 

It is a good moment to repeat that a war is never won. Never mind that history books tell us the opposite. The psychological and material costs of war are so high that any triumph is a pyrrhic victory. Only peace can be won and winning peace means not only avoiding armed conflict but finding ways of eradicating the causes of individual and collective violence: injustice and oppression, ignorance and poverty, intolerance and discrimination. We must construct a new set of values and attitudes to replace the culture of war which, for centuries, has been influencing the course of civilization. Winning peace means the triumph of our pledge to establish, on a democratic basis, a new social framework of tolerance and generosity from which no one will feel excluded.

      -- Federico Mayor

 

Peace may sound simple - one beautiful word - but it requires everything we have, every quality, every strength, every dream, every high ideal.

      -- Yehudi Menuhin (1916 - 1999)

 

Establishing lasting peace is the work of education; all politics can do is keep us out of war.

      -- Maria Montessori (1870 - 1952)

 

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.

      -- John Muir (1838 - 1914)

 

Dream always of a peaceful, warless, disarmed world.

      -- Robert Muller

 

There is no way to peace; peace is the way.

      -- A.J. Muste (1885 - 1967)

 

Poetry is an act of peace. Peace goes into the making of a poet as flour goes into the making of bread.

      -- Pablo Neruda (1904 - 1973)

 

The more we sweat in peace the less we bleed in war.

      -- Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit (1900 - 1990)

 

This is the way of peace: overcome evil with good, and falsehood with truth, and hatred with love.

      -- Peace Pilgrim

 

Five enemies of peace inhabit us - avarice, ambition, envy, anger, and pride; if these were to be banished, we should infallibly enjoy perpetual peace.

      -- Francesco Petrarch (1304 - 1374)

 

To reach peace, teach peace.

      -- Pope John Paul II

 

If you want peace, work for justice.

      -- Pope Paul VI (1897 - 1978)

 

The true and solid peace of nations consists not in equality of arms, but in mutual trust alone.

      -- Pope John XXIII (1881 - 1963)

 

Peace will be victorious.

      -- Yitzhak Rabin (1922 - 1995)

 

You can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake.

 

You take people as far as they will go, not as far as you would like them to go.

 

Small use it will be to save democracy for the race if we cannot save the race for democracy.

 

Men and women are like right and left hands; it doesn't make sense not to use both.

 

I want to stand by my country, but I cannot vote for war. I vote no.   (Congressional speech, 1917)

 

There can be no compromise with war; it cannot be reformed or controlled; cannot be disciplined into decency or codified into common sense; for war is the slaughter of human beings, temporarily regarded as enemies, on as large a scale as possible. [1929]

 

Killing more people won't help matters. (1941, after Pearl Harbor)

 -- Jeannette Rankin (1880 - 1973)

 

Peace, development and environmental protection are interdependent and indivisible.

       -- Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, 1993

 

Peace is not the product of terror or fear.

Peace is not the silence of cemeteries.

Peace is not the silent revolt of violent repression.

Peace is the generous, tranquil contribution

of all to the good of all.

Peace is dynamism. Peace is generosity.

It is right and it is duty.

      -- Bishop Oscar Romero (1917 - 1980)

 

It isn't enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work at it.

      -- Eleanor Roosevelt (1884 - 1962)

 

The word liberal comes from the word free. We must cherish and honor the word free or it will cease to apply to us.

     -- Eleanor Roosevelt (1884 - 1962)

 

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.

    -- Eleanor Roosevelt (1884 - 1962)

 

The structure of world peace cannot be the work of one man or one party or one nation. It must be a peace which rests on the cooperative effort of the whole world.

      -- Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882 - 1945)

 

Here then, is the problem we present to you, stark and dreadful and inescapable: Shall we put an end to the human race; or shall mankind renounce war?

      -- The Russell-Einstein Manifesto, 1955

 

In the hearts of people today there is a deep longing for peace. When the true spirit of peace is thoroughly dominant, it becomes an inner experience with unlimited possibilities. Only when this really happens - when the spirit of peace awakens and takes possession of men's hearts, can humanity be saved from perishing.

      -- Albert Schweitzer (1875 - 1965)

 

Peace is not an absence of war, it is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence, justice.

      -- Amy Sparks - Gigi

 

Inspiration plus motivation = Liberation from societal constraints people don't even realize they have been brought into.

 

The question for me is always, How can I inspire the person I'm talking to, how can I meet them where they are at, from their point of view? What's life like for them right now? How can they walk away feeling inspired, moved, changed?

      -- Baruch Spinoza (1632 - 1677)

 

Peace is the one condition of survival in this nuclear age.

      -- Adlai Stevenson (1900 - 1965)

 

I was once asked why I don't participate in anti-war demonstrations. I said that I will never do that, but as soon as you have a pro-peace rally, I'll be there.

      -- Mother Theresa (1910 - 1997)

 

All works of love are works of peace.

      -- Mother Theresa (1910 - 1997)

 

If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.

      -- Mother Theresa (1910 - 1997)

 

If there is to be peace in the world,

There must be peace in the nations.

If there is to be peace in the nations,

There must be peace in the cities.

If there is to be peace in the cities,

There must be peace between neighbors.

If there is to be peace between neighbors,

There must be peace in the home.

If there is to be peace in the home,

There must be peace in the heart.

      -- Lao Tzu (570 - 490 B.C.)

 

Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed.

      -- UNESCO Constitution 

 

We, Veteran's for Peace, view peace as a positively active and creative process which requires courage, commitment, endurance, vigilance, and integrity. Peace is a struggle toward unity, and it is characterized by an absence of violence in all its forms, including discrimination based on gender, age, race, religion, social and economic status, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. Those who labor for peace are called peacemakers because they tirelessly pursue nonviolent solutions, work for economic and social justice, celebrate diversity, and strive to build relationships between adversaries through education, conflict mediation, and humanitarian relief. We recognize that peace is both a means and end simultaneously, and that it is never finally or fully achieved. This is because change and growth require some degree of tension or conflict. Historically, such conflict has provided the impetus for military solutions. Thus we, Veteran's for Peace, strongly believe that the greatest obstacle to peace is militarism with its reliance on violence and war. We further believe that peacekeeping action should only be accomplished by a legitimate international body.

      -- Committee to Define Peace, Veterans for Peace

 

Time itself becomes subordinate to war. If only we could celebrate peace as our various ancestors celebrated war; if only we could glorify peace as those before us, thirsting for adventure, glorified war; if only our sages and scholars together could resolve to infuse peace with the same energy and inspiration that others have put into war.

Why is war such an easy option? Why does peace remain such an elusive goal? We know statesmen skilled at waging war, but where are those dedicated enough to humanity to find a way to avoid war>

Every nation has its prestigious military academies - or so few of them - that reach not only the virtues of peace but also the art of attaining it? I mean attaining and protecting it by means other than weapons, the tools of war. Why are we surprised whenever war recedes and yields to peace?

      -- Elie Wiesel (Born 1928 )

 

Peace is always beautiful.

      -- Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892)

 

You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom.

      -- Malcolm X (1925 - 1965)