I have used this phrase from time to time. The following quote from Thomas Merton expresses well what I intended (I cannot recall how well I myself expressed it):
Peace demands the most heroic labor and the most
difficult sacrifice. It demands greater heroism than war. It demands
greater fidelity to the truth and a much more perfect purity of
conscience.
I will add that he has a lot of good quotes, here: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/t/thomas_merton.html