If we justify war, it is because all peoples always justify the traits of which they find themselves possessed, not because war will bear an objective examination of its merits.
Source: Patterns of Culture, ch. 1, 1934.
-- Ruth Benedict, (Jun 6 1887-1948), US anthropologist; She was an expert on American Indian tribes; wrote classic Patterns of Culture, 1934; Race, Science and Politics, 1940.