Peace is normally the handmaiden of righteousness; but when peace and righteousness conflict then a great and upright people can never for a moment hesitate to follow the path which leads toward righteousness, even though that path also leads to war.
Roosevelt emphasizes the importance of righteousness over peace when the two are in conflict, suggesting that moral integrity should guide nations even towards war.
Share
More from Teddy Roosevelt
We are bound in honor to strive to bring ever nearer the day when, as far as is humanly possible, we shall be able to realize the ideal that each man shall have an equal opportunity to show the stuff that is in him by the way in which he…
I care for the great deeds of the past chiefly as spurs to drive us onward in the present.
I will accept the nomination for President if it is tendered to me, and I will adhere to this decision until the convention has expressed its preference.
Other voices in this conversation
