Though force can protect in emergency, only justice, fairness, consideration and cooperation can finally lead men to the dawn of eternal peace.

The saying contrasts short-term security achieved through coercive power (“force”) with the durable conditions required for lasting peace. Eisenhower’s phrasing suggests that military strength may be necessary to meet immediate threats, but it cannot by itself create a stable international order. “Justice, fairness, consideration and cooperation” point to norms, institutions, and reciprocal restraint—ethical and diplomatic foundations that reduce the causes of conflict rather than merely deterring it. The “dawn of eternal peace” is aspirational rather than literal: a rhetorical horizon that frames peace as a project requiring moral legitimacy and collective action, not only armaments.