When the sword is once drawn, the passions of men observe no bounds of moderation.

Hamilton’s line warns that once violence or war begins (“the sword is once drawn”), rational restraint quickly gives way to escalation. The phrase “passions of men” points to fear, anger, vengeance, and factional zeal—forces that, once unleashed, tend to override prudence and legal or moral limits. The quote encapsulates a recurring Hamiltonian concern: political conflicts can rapidly become self-reinforcing when they turn coercive, making moderation difficult for leaders and publics alike. As a general maxim, it argues for exhausting peaceful remedies and for designing institutions and policies that prevent disputes from tipping into armed confrontation, because the dynamics of conflict tend to expand beyond initial aims or control.