Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding.

There is no way to peace; peace is the way.

I'm a Muslim. I've been a Muslim for 20 years. . . . You know me. I'm a boxer. I've been called the greatest. People recognize me for being a boxer and a man of truth. I wouldn't be here representing Islam if it were terrorist. . . . I think all people should know the truth, come to recognize the truth. Islam is peace.

I still believe that peace and plenty and happiness can be worked out some way. I am a fool.

It is impossible for me to reconcile myself to the idea of conversion after the style that goes on in India and elsewhere today. It is an error which is perhaps the greatest impediment to the world’s progress toward peace … Why should a Christian want to convert a Hindu to Christianity? Why should he not be satisfied if the Hindu is a good or godly man? January 30, 1937.

When things are investigated, then true knowledge is achieved;
When true knowledge is achieved, then the will becomes sincere;
When the will is sincere, then the heart is set right;
When the heart is set right, then the personal life is cultivated;
When the personal life is cultivated, then the family life is regulated;
When the family life is regulated, then the national life is orderly;
And when the national life is orderly, then there is peace in the world.

What kind of peace do we seek? Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war. Not the peace of the grave or the security of the slave. I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children — not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women — not merely peace in our time but peace for all time. Address at The American University, Washington D.C. (10 June 1963)

I am not only a pacifist but a militant pacifist. I am willing to fight for peace. Nothing will end war unless the people themselves refuse to go to war.

In War: Resolution. In Defeat: Defiance. In Victory: Magnanimity. In Peace: Good Will.

Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.

The United States, as the world knows, will never start a war. We do not want a war. We do not now expect a war. This generation of Americans has already had enough — more than enough — of war and hate and oppression. We shall be prepared if others wish it. We shall be alert to try to stop it. But we shall also do our part to build a world of peace where the weak are safe and the strong are just. We are not helpless before that task or hopeless of its success. Address at The American University, Washington D.C. (10 June 1963)

We begin to think cosmically.

And is not peace, in the last analysis, basically a matter of human rights — the right to live out our lives without fear of devastation — the right to breathe air as nature provided it — the right of future generations to a healthy existence? Address at The American University, Washington D.C. (10 June 1963)

I speak of peace, therefore, as the necessary rational end of rational men. I realize that the pursuit of peace is not as dramatic as the pursuit of war — and frequently the words of the pursuer fall on deaf ears. But we have no more urgent task. Address at The American University, Washington D.C. (10 June 1963)

If we cannot end now our differences, at least we can make the world safe for diversity. For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal. Address at The American University, Washington D.C. (10 June 1963)

The path we have chosen for the present is full of hazards, as all paths are; but it is one of the most consistent with our character and our courage as a nation and our commitments around the world. The cost of freedom is always high — but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and this is the path of surrender or submission. Our goal is not victory of might but the vindication of right — not peace at the expense of freedom, but both peace and freedom, here in this hemisphere and, we hope, around the world. God willing, that goal will be achieved. Thank you, and good night. Cuban Missile Crisis speech (22 October 1962)

There are many people who feel that it is useless and futile for us to continue talking peace and non-violence — against a government whose only reply is savage attacks on an unarmed and defenceless people. And I think the time has come for us to consider, in the light of our experiences at this day at home, whether the methods which we have applied so far are adequate. Interview in 1961.

I believe in the religion of Islam. I believe in Allah and peace.

I regard myself as a soldier, though a soldier of peace.

At present the peace of the world has been preserved, not by statesmen, but by capitalists Letter to Mrs. Sarah Brydges Willyams (1863-10-17)

It is an unfortunate fact that we can secure peace only by preparing to war.

To secure these ends, America's weapons are nonprovocative, carefully controlled, designed to deter and capable of selective use. Our military forces are committed to peace and disciplined in self-restraint. Our diplomats are instructed to avoid unnecessary irritants and purely rhetorical hostility. Address at The American University, Washington D.C. (10 June 1963)

We Germans fear God, but nothing else in the world; and already that godliness is that, which lets us love and foster peace.

A tremendous feeling of peace came over him. He knew that at last, for once and forever, it was now all, finally, over.

General disarmament being for the present entirely out of question, a proportionate reduction might be recommended. The safety of any country and of the world's commerce depending not on the absolute, but relative amount of war material, this would be evidently the first reasonable step to take towards universal economy and peace.