Julius Zeyer

Julius Zeyer (26 April 1841 – 29 January 1901) was a Czech prose writer, poet and playwright.

Quotes

I love peace and quiet above everything. I hate war as does every just man, but I should like to see a great war that would clear the air like a thunderstorm, that would shatter all chains, and would thrust back to their natural bounds the hyenas among the nations. This latter most of all, for not until then will it be possible to enthrone the longed-for peace; the logic of history points to this, as does also the spirit of God in that history. The spirit of God cannot, of course, desire war and bloodshed, but the breaking of fetters and the restoration of human dignity to an earth which has breathed arrogance and hate for centuries past. I call for God’s judgment, I call for justice; millions call with a voice that will find the ear of God.
- Quoted as epigraph in Alec Dickson, "An Eye-Witness in Bohemia", The National Review, vol. 111, no. 669 (Nov. 1938) p. 627