“Do you believe that men have always massacred each other as they do today; that they have always been liars, Source cheats, traitors, ingrates, plunderers, feeble, fickle, cowardly, envious, gluttonous, drunken, grasping, ambitious, bloody, slanderous, debauched, fanatical, hypocritical, and silly?”
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“Do you believe that hawks have always eaten pigeons when they have found them?”
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“Yes, without doubt,” said the other.
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“Well, then,” he replied, “if hawks have always had the same character, why should you imagine that men have changed theirs?”
This powerful exchange cuts to the bone. It is a bleak and cynical assessment of human nature. The words feel modern, yet they come from one of the Enlightenment’s most influential minds: Voltaire. This biting dialogue challenges our ideas of progress and civilization. Furthermore, it forces us to ask a deeply uncomfortable question. Is our capacity for violence an unchanging part of who we are?
To understand this indictment, we must first trace its origin. Source The quote is not from a play or a personal letter. Instead, we find it in Voltaire (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)‘s Dictionnaire philosophique, or Philosophical Dictionary. . Specifically, the passage appears in the entry for “Guerre” (War). Voltaire uses a Socratic dialogue to explore the topic. This format allows him to present a devastating critique without claiming it as his own direct opinion, a common tactic he used to avoid censorship.
The World That Forged the Words
Voltaire did not write in a vacuum. He was a product of his time, and the 18th century was rife with conflict. When he published his dictionary, Europe was just recovering from the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763). This conflict was a global catastrophe. It involved every major European power and caused immense destruction. Historians estimate the war resulted in over a million deaths. Consequently, the brutal reality of organized slaughter heavily influenced Voltaire’s perspective.
He saw nations, which claimed to be founded on reason and Christian morality, engaging in senseless butchery. For example, he observed armies marching to kill each other over distant colonial territories or obscure dynastic claims. This glaring hypocrisy fueled his satirical pen. The quote is his direct response to the absurdity of so-called civilized warfare. He saw little difference between the wars of his day and the conflicts of ancient, supposedly barbaric, times. Therefore, his comparison of men to hawks was a deliberate and shocking rhetorical move.
A Philosophical Indictment of Humanity
Voltaire’s dialogue does more than just condemn war. It presents a deeply pessimistic view of human nature itself. The comparison to hawks and pigeons is key. Hawks hunt pigeons out of instinct; it is their nature. The character in the dialogue suggests that violence and vice are just as instinctual for humans. This idea directly challenged the Enlightenment’s more optimistic belief in human perfectibility. While many thinkers believed reason could overcome base instincts, Voltaire presents a grim alternative.
More Than Just Violence
The long, damning list of human flaws is also critical. Voltaire includes everything from being “liars” and “cheats” to “fanatical” and “silly.” He argues that the act of war is not an isolated evil. Instead, it is the ultimate expression of a whole suite of vices inherent in humanity. In his view, war is simply the organized and state-sanctioned outlet for our worst impulses. This makes the indictment far broader and more disturbing. It’s not just about soldiers on a battlefield; it’s about the fundamental character of mankind.
Ultimately, Voltaire’s question remains profoundly relevant. We live in an age of incredible technological and social advancement. Yet, conflict and brutality persist across the globe. His words serve as a timeless, sobering check on our pride. They force us to look past our achievements and confront the darker, seemingly unchanging aspects of our nature. The dialogue from his entry on “War” is not just a historical artifact. Indeed, it is a mirror held up to humanity, reflecting a truth as sharp today as it was nearly three centuries ago.