proverb · Words worth keeping
War is death's feast.
War is death's feast.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
War is condemned through an image of death consuming lives. Calling it a feast gives its destructive consequences moral force.
What the words are saying
Death is imagined as a guest abundantly supplied by war. The saying directs attention away from glory toward the lives lost and the people affected. It is an ethical image rather than a measured casualty statement or a complete judgment on every conflict. A careful application recognises suffering without celebrating it or reducing the people harmed to an abstract argument.
Everyday example
A discussion of a conflict makes space for the people harmed instead of focusing solely on victory and prestige.
When to use it
Use it to reflect on war’s human cost.
What it does not mean
The image is not a casualty estimate or a complete assessment of a particular conflict.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases
Entry 1715 · War
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- English