Maxim

Seek peace, and pursue it.

Peace rarely arrives by itself; it is something we go after, in quarrels at home as much as between nations. To be the one who lowers the temperature, and who takes the offered hand, is honoured in nearly every tradition.

Related expressions

• “be of the disciples of Aaron, loving peace and pursuing peace, loving mankind and drawing them close to the Torah.”

  — Hillel the Elder, Mishnah, Pirkei Avot 1:12, tr. Joshua Kulp (Mishnah Yomit)
  JudaismClassical (200 BCE – 600 CE)relation: expressesVerifiedsourceTranslation: Sefaria / Mishnah Yomit by Dr. Joshua Kulp (CC BY)

• “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”

  — Jesus, Matthew 5:9 (KJV)
  Watch on YouTube: Jordan Peterson: The Sermon on the Mount ↗Jordan B. Peterson lectures on the Sermon on the Mount
  ChristianityClassical (200 BCE – 600 CE)relation: expressesVerifiedsourceTranslation: King James Version (public domain)

• “And if they lean to peace, lean thou also to it; and put thy trust in God: for He is the Hearing, the Knowing.”

  — The Qur'an, Qur'an 8:61 (Sura Al-Anfal, 'The Spoils'), tr. J. M. Rodwell
  IslamMedieval (600 – 1500)relation: expressesVerifiedsourceTranslation: public-domain translation (J. M. Rodwell)

• “Victory breeds hatred, for the conquered is unhappy. He who has given up both victory and defeat, he, the contented, is happy.”

  — The Buddha, Dhammapada 201, tr. F. Max Müller
  BuddhismAncient (before 200 BCE)relation: similarVerifiedsourceTranslation: public-domain translation (Max Müller)

• “Calm and repose are what he prizes; victory (by force of arms) is to him undesirable.”

  — Laozi, Tao Te Ching, ch. 31, tr. James Legge
  TaoismAncient (before 200 BCE)relation: partialVerifiedsourceTranslation: public-domain translation (Legge)

Score

Moral Rank 71.5 · Evidence E = 16.02

E = ln(1+4.38) + √4.38 + 3·2.58 + 1.5·3 = 16.02

How this is scored