Elihu Root
Lawyer
1845-02-15 – 1937-02-07
Elihu Root was an American lawyer, statesman, and diplomat who served as U.S. Secretary of War and Secretary of State. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 1912 for his work in international arbitration and peace initiatives. He also served as a U.S. senator from New York.
Quotes by Elihu Root
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No nation now sets forth to despoil another upon the avowed ground that it desires the spoils.
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Prejudice and passion and suspicion are more dangerous than the incitement of self-interest or the most stubborn adherence to real differences of opinion regarding rights.
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The theoretical postulate of all diplomatic discussion between nations is the assumed willingness of every nation to do justice.
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Claims of right and insistence upon obligations may depend upon treaty stipulations, or upon the rules of international law, or upon the sense of natural justice applied to the circumstances of a particular case, or upon disputed facts.
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Cruelty to men and to the lower animals as well, which would have passed unnoticed a century ago, now shocks the sensibilities and is regarded as wicked and degrading.
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It is not uncommon in modern times to see governments straining every nerve to keep the peace, and the people whom they represent, with patriotic enthusiasm and resentment over real or fancied wrongs, urging them forward to war.
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Men do not fail; they give up trying.
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