quote · Legacy record
It makes no difference what men think of war, said the judge. ... War endures. As well ask men what they think of stone. War was always here. Before man was, war waited for him. The ultimate trade awaiting its ultimate practitioner. That is the way it was and will be. That way and not some other way...War is the ultimate game because war is at last a forcing of the unity of existence. War is god...Men of god and men of war have strange affinities.
It makes no difference what men think of war, said the judge. ... War endures. As well ask men what they think of stone. War was always here. Before man was, war waited for him. The ultimate trade awaiting its ultimate practitioner. That is the way it was and will be. That way and not some other way...War is the ultimate game because war is at last a forcing of the unity of existence. War is god...Men of god and men of war have strange affinities.
Approximate author period: c. 1978 AD · modern
Meaning not yet available
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Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Cormac McCarthy
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Approximate author period: c. 1978 AD · modern
Approximate author-period anchor from life dates 1933 to 2023; Wikidata Q272610, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q272610 (accessed 2026-10-08). Not a quotation composition date.
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- Contributor-provided quotation collection
Supplied reference C; CSV row 78185; supplied attribution, independently unverified
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.