Yes, we love peace, but we are not willing to take wounds for it, as we are for war.

Holmes contrasts professed devotion to peace with the real costs people are willing to bear. The line suggests that peace is often treated as a preference or sentiment, while war is treated as a duty that justifies sacrifice. By noting that we accept “wounds” for war but not for peace, he implies that lasting peace may require courage, risk, and endurance—perhaps in the form of political compromise, civil resistance, or personal loss—yet societies frequently lack the will to pay that price. The aphorism functions as a moral challenge: if peace is truly valued, it must be pursued with the same seriousness and readiness for hardship that nations routinely mobilize for conflict.