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Meaning
The speaker is saying that when a war must be fought, the decision is not made by weighing financial cost. The focus is on whether the war should happen at all, not on how expensive it will be. It presents cost as secondary to the larger decision.
When It Was Said
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Who It Was Said To
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Historical Context
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Source
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Original Language & Translation
Originally said in English.
Did They Really Say It?
Listed as attributed on Wikiquote, with no source found.
Did You Know?
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About Philip Pullman
English writer, best known for His Dark Materials
Sir Philip Nicholas Outram Pullman is an English writer, best known for the fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials. He is a contemporary author whose work has reached a wide readership, with 119 quotes on this site. His Dark Materials began with Northern Lights in 1995, which won the Carnegie Medal and later the "Carnegie of Carnegies". The third volume, The Amber Spyglass, won the Whitbread Award. He later began the companion trilogy The Book of Dust in 2017, and its final novel, The Rose Field, was published in October 2025.
More from Philip Pullman (119 quotes) →Keep reading Philip Pullman
- “Comics are a wonderful form. You can do so much with it.”Philip Pullman
- “Being in love was like China: you knew it was there, and no doubt it was very interesting, and some people we…”Philip Pullman
- “We feel cold, but we don't mind it, because we will not come to harm. And if we wrapped up against the cold,…”Philip Pullman
- “Education and health were always matters of charity. You educated children and you helped the sick because th…”Philip Pullman
War: more sayings
- “Peace is preferable to war. But it’s not an absolute value, and so we always ask, “What kind of peace?”Noam Chomsky
- “The constitution of the United States is a law for rulers and people, equally in war and in peace, and covers…”David Davis
- “We have a responsibility to make sure civilians and children are never the targets of war and humanitarian as…”Laphonza Butler
READ THE SOURCE
Books by Philip Pullman
Northern Lights
1999
The Subtle Knife
2002
The Amber Spyglass
2001
His Dark Materials
2007
The ruby in the smoke (Sally Lockhart #1)
1985