If my soldiers were to begin to think, not one would remain in the ranks.
—Frederick II of Prussia (1712–86) King of Prussia, Military Strategist
Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look on them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death.
—Sun Tzu (fl.c.544–496 BCE) Chinese General, Military Theorist
I always considered statesmen to be more expendable than soldiers.
—Harry S. Truman (1884–1972) American Head of State
Every soldier carries a marshall’s baton in his pack.
—Napoleon I (1769–1821) Emperor of France
Don’t waste good iron for nails or good men for soldiers.
—Chinese Proverb
An army of principles can penetrate where an army of soldiers cannot.
—Thomas Paine (1737–1809) American Nationalist, Author, Pamphleteer, Inventor
In war the heroes always outnumber the soldiers ten to one.
—H. L. Mencken (1880–1956) American Journalist, Literary Critic
Every lover is a soldier and has his camp in Cupid.
—Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso) (c.43 BCE–c.18 CE) Roman Poet
Soldiers are sworn to action; they must win Some flaming, fatal climax with their lives. Soldiers are dreamers; when the guns begin They think of firelit homes, clean beds, and wives.
—Siegfried Sassoon (1886–1967) English Poet, Writer, Soldier
As an old soldier, I admit the cowardice: it’s as universal as seasickness, and matters just as little.
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
I am a general. My soldiers are the keys and I have to command them.
—Vladimir Horowitz (1904–89) Russian-born American Musician, Composer
There exist only three beings worthy of respect: the priest, the soldier, the poet. To know, to kill, to create.
—Charles Baudelaire (1821–67) French Poet, Art Critic, Essayist, Translator
Old soldiers never die, they simply fade away.
—Common Proverb
I never expect a soldier to think.
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
By the apostle Paul, shadows tonight Have struck more terror to the soul of Richard Than can the substance of ten thousand soldiers.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
You can always tell an old soldier by the inside of his holsters and cartridge boxes. The young ones carry pistols and cartridges; the old ones, grub.
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
Ten soldiers wisely led will beat a hundred without a head.
—Euripides (480–406 BCE) Ancient Greek Dramatist
Diplomats are just as essential to starting a war as soldiers are to finishing it. You take Diplomacy out of war and the thing would fall flat in a week.
—Will Rogers (1879–1935) American Actor, Rancher, Humorist
The first who was king was a fortunate soldier: Who serves his country well has no need of ancestors.
—Voltaire (1694–1778) French Philosopher, Author
Brave men rejoice in adversity, just as brave soldiers triumph in war.
—Seneca the Younger (Lucius Annaeus Seneca) (c.4 BCE–65 CE) Roman Stoic Philosopher, Statesman, Tragedian
The connection between dress and war is not far to seek; your finest clothes are those you wear as soldiers.
—Virginia Woolf (1882–1941) English Novelist
When we assumed the Soldier, we did not lay aside the Citizen.
—George Washington (1732–99) American Head of State, Military Leader
I would rather have a German division in front of me than a French one behind me.
—George S. Patton (1885–1945) American Military Leader
We call Japanese soldiers fanatics when they die rather than surrender, whereas American soldiers who do the same thing are called heroes.
—Robert Maynard Hutchins (1899–1977) American Educational Philosopher
We are parlor soldiers. The rugged battle of fate, where strength is born, we shun.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
The soldiers fight and the kings are called heroes.
—The Talmud Sacred Text of the Jewish Faith
Wars come and go, but my soldiers stay eternal.
—Tupac Shakur (1971–96) American Rapper, Actor
Artists like cats; soldiers like dogs.
—Desmond Morris (b.1928) English Ethologist, Writer
When soldiers have been baptized in the fire of a battle-field, they have all one rank in my eyes.
—Napoleon I (1769–1821) Emperor of France
A handful of soldiers is always better than a mouthful of arguments.
—Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1742–99) German Philosopher, Physicist
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