War is much too serious a matter to be entrusted to the military.

This aphorism is widely attributed to the French diplomat Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand, whose career spanned the Revolution, the Directory, Napoleon’s Empire, and the Bourbon Restoration. It reflects a statesman’s perspective formed amid near-continuous European warfare, in which military success could be strategically self-defeating if it outpaced political aims. The remark is typically cited as a diplomatic maxim rather than tied to a single documented speech or memorandum: it encapsulates the view that decisions about war must remain under civilian political control and be judged by broader national interests (alliances, legitimacy, finance, and postwar settlement), not solely by operational or professional military considerations.

The aphorism argues for civilian supremacy over the military in matters of war. It suggests that war is not merely a technical or operational problem for generals to solve, but a political act with vast moral, economic, and diplomatic consequences. By implying that the military’s professional focus can narrow decision-making, the line elevates prudence, statecraft, and accountability: leaders responsible to the polity should decide whether war is necessary, what ends justify it, and when peace is preferable. The quote has endured as a succinct critique of militarism and as a defense of political judgment over purely martial expertise.

1) "War is too important to be left to the generals." 2) "War is too serious a business to be left to soldiers." 3) "War is much too serious to be entrusted to the military."