“All other trades are contained in that of war.Is that why war endures?No. It endures because young men love it and old men love it in them. Those that fought, those that did not.That's your notion.The judge smiled. Men are born for games. Nothing else. Every child knows that play is nobler than work. He knows too that the worth or merit of a game is not inherent in the game itself but rather in the value of that which is put at hazard. Games of chance require a wager to have meaning at all. Games of sport involve the skill and strength of the opponents and the humiliation of defeat and the pride of victory are in themselves sufficient stake because they inhere in the worth of the principals and define them. But trial of chance or trial of worth all games aspire to the condition of war for here that which is wagered swallows up game, player, all.”

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About Cormac McCarthy

American novelist and playwright of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, known for his stark, poetic prose and exploration of violence, morality, and the American South. His works like *Blood Meridian* and *No Country for Old Men* redefine literary Westerns and existential fiction.

More from Cormac McCarthy (168 quotes) →
"All other trades are contained in that of war.Is that why war endures…" — Cormac McCarthy | Daily Quotes