#sold

Say a king wishes to support a standing army of fifty thousand men. Under ancient or medieval conditions, feeding such a force was an enormous problem—unless they were on the march, one would need to employ almost as many men and ani­mals just to locate, acquire, and transport the necessary provisions. On the other hand, if one simply hands out coins to the soldiers and then demands that every family in the kingdom was obliged to pay one of those coins back to you, one would, in one blow, turn one's entire national economy into a vast machine for the provisioning of soldiers, since now every family, in order to get their hands on the coins, must find some way to contribute to the general effort to provide soldiers with things they want. Markets are brought into existence as a side effect. ↗

— David Graeber

#market #soldiers #family

America without her Soldiers would be like God without His angels. ↗

— Claudia Pemberton

#military #soldiers #inspirational

I see you have returned, my love; and your mood is as dark as ever. Did your soldiers not adore you to your complete satisfaction? ↗

— Wayne Gerard Trotman

#commander #leadership #military #mood #narcissism

War is life multiplied by some number that no one has ever heard of. ↗

— Sebastian Junger

#army #combat #life #marine-corps #military

Thomas looked around and tried not to let his duty turn him bitter. These were good men, and he would not leave them behind. He had chosen this, an unselfish life. ↗

— Jessica Fortunato

#platoon #soldier #war #life

These boys have no idea what a child’s play is, childhood is an endangered and fleeting phase of life for everyone around here.” –Christian Ezora. ↗

— Ray Anyasi

#life

I’ll tell you what I’m fighting for. Not for England, nor her allies, nor any patriotic cause. It’s all come down to the hope of being with you.. ↗

— Lisa Kleypas

#soldier #love

Lovely was my compliment. Could you not come up with your own?" "Lord Paen said compliment her, he did not say we had to be creative about it," the second man pointed out with a shrug ↗

— Lynsay Sands

#love

Let me love you, Ysolde. Let this happen. Since I was reborn, I have lived every moment in despair because I lost you. Let me worship you now as I’ve longed to do all those years.” Baltic, Love In The Time of Dragons ↗

— Katie MacAlister

#love-in-the-time-of-dragons #ysolde #love

There was something terrible, but also something sad and melancholy in this long cry uttered by the Russian infantry as they staged an attack. As it crossed the cold water, it lost its fervour. Instead of valour or gallantry, you could hear the sadness of a soul parting with everything that it loved, calling on its nearest and dearest to wake up, to lift their head from their pillows and hear for the last time the voice of a father, a husband, a son or a brother... ↗

— Vasily Grossman

#soldiers #ussr #war #ww #love