Otto von Bismarck

“Politics is not an exact science.”

“People never lie so much as after a hunt, during a war, or before an election.”

“I have a burden on my soul. During my long life, I did not make anyone happy, neither my friends, nor my family, nor even myself. I have done many evil things...I was the cause of the beginning of three big wars. About 800,000 people were killed because of me on the battlefields., and their mothers, brothers, and widows cried for them. And now this stands between me and God.”

“الحياة أشبه بالتواجد عند طبيب الأسنان. فأنت تعتقد دائما أن الأسوأ هو الذي لا يزال في طريقه إليك، رغم أنه يكون قد انتهى بالفعل.”

“Fools say that they learn by experience. I prefer to profit by others experience.”

“One day the great European War will come out of some damned foolish thing in the Balkans (1888).”

“Politics is the art of the possible, the attainable — the art of the next best”

“man cannot control the current of events. he can only float with them and steer”

“Not by speeches and votes of the majority, are the great questions of the time decided — that was the error of 1848 and 1849 — but by iron and blood.”

“A conquering army on the border will not be stopped by eloquence.”

“Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others.”

“the main thing is to make history not to write it”

“The great questions of the day will not be settled by means of speeches and majority decisions but by iron and blood”

“Faust complained about having two souls in his breast, but I harbor a whole crowd of them and they quarrel. It is like being in a republic.”

“When you want to fool the world, tell the truth. ”

“It is the destiny of the weak to be devoured by the strong.”

“Be polite; write diplomatically; even in a declaration of war one observes the rules of politeness.”

“Hounds follow those who feed them.”

“Preventive war is like committing suicide out of fear of death.”

“The statesman's task is to hear God's footsteps marching through history, and to try and catch on to His coattails as He marches past. ”

“Politics ruins the character”

“If there is ever another war in Europe, it will come out of some damned silly thing in the Balkans.”

“God has a special providence for fools, drunkards, and the United States of America.”

“Fools learn from experience. I prefer to learn from the experience of others.”

“Verfallen wir nicht in den Fehler, bei jedem Andersmeinenden entweder an seinem Verständnis oder an seinem guten Willen zu zweifeln.”

“Laws are like sausages. It's better not to see them being made.”

“An appeal to fear never finds an echo in German hearts.”

“The Balkans aren't worth the life of a single Pomeranian grenadier.”

“People never lie so much as before an election, during a war, or after a hunt.”

“Politics are not a science based on logic; they are the capacity of always choosing at each instant, in constantly changing situations, the least harmful, the most useful.”

“Never believe anything in politics until it has been officially denied.”