# The Price of Peace explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Henry van Dyke Jr..

## What happens

The chapter contrasts false peace achieved through cowardice with true peace achieved through justice, asserting that war may be necessary to secure a just and ideal peace.

## Themes in this chapter

### Duty and Patriotism

The poem emphasizes the duty to pursue justice through sacrifice, framing war as a necessary price for a righteous peace.

## Key lines

> Peace without Justice is a low estate— A coward cringing to an iron Fate! But Peace through Justice is the great ideal— We’ll pay the price of war to make it real.

A peace that lacks justice is a base condition, like a coward submitting to a harsh destiny. However, peace founded on justice is a noble goal worth fighting and dying for.

_The stanza defines two types of peace and asserts that true peace requires the willingness to wage war for justice._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_10_se/chapters/the-price-of-peace
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_10_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_10_se/chapters