This quote is so primal, ageless, and valid that it has no real authorship. Variations of it go clear back to Greek philosophers and right up to modern times, proving some wisdom never goes stale. 

I am always reminded of a quote from the 92-year-old retired DC Beltway lawyer who I befriended at the nursing facility. There was some big hoopla about something in the news and I asked him where he thought the truth lay, and he answered:

"Where the truth always lays, somewhere in the middle. Politicians make a living pushing it around."

That is how I always look at war propaganda, which we are getting a good dose of lately. If I carefully look at both side's propaganda, I can usually come up with a pretty clear picture of the actual situation from that perspective. It is never black and white, and wars cannot be fought in shades of gray. It requires 100% good and bad guys to make it work. A good rule of thumb is to always remember a few people get very rich through war. A billion here, a billion there, starts to add up to some real money. War does have educational benefits though. Now we all know the colors of the Ukrainian flag.