Of all the miserable, unprofitable, inglorious wars in the world is the war against words. Let men say just what they like. Let them propose to cut every throat and burn every house - if they so like it. We have nothing to do with a man's words or a man's thoughts, except to put against them better words and better thoughts, and so to win in the great moral and intellectual duel that is always going on, and on which all progress depends." - Meaning and context.">
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Of all the miserable, unprofitable, inglorious wars in the world is the war against words. Let men say just what they like. Let them propose to cut every throat and burn every house - if they so like it. We have nothing to do with a man's words or a man's thoughts, except to put against them better words and better thoughts, and so to win in the great moral and intellectual duel that is always going on, and on which all progress depends.

— Auberon Herbert

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Of all the miserable, unprofitable, inglorious wars in the world is the war against words. Let men say just what they like. Let them propose to cut every throat and burn every house - if they so like it. We have nothing to do with a man's words or a man's thoughts, except to put against them better words and better thoughts, and so to win in the great moral and intellectual duel that is always going on, and on which all progress depends." in the context of "" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Auberon Herbert

About Auberon Herbert

Auberon Edward William Molyneux Herbert (18 June 1838 – 5 November 1906) was a writer, theorist, philosopher, and 19th century individualist. A member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, Herbert was a son of the 3rd Earl of Carnarvon. He was Member of Parliament for the two member constituency of Nottingham between 1870–1874.