Otto von Bismarck's Quotes

Politics ruins the character.

Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made.

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

Anyone who has ever looked into the glazed eyes of a soldier dying on the battlefield will think hard before starting a war.

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

There is a Providence that protects idiots, drunkards, children and the United States of America.

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

When a man says he approves of something in principle, it means he hasn't the slightest intention of carrying it out in practice.

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

The main thing is to make history, not to write it.

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

The secret of politics? Make a good treaty with Russia.

With a gentleman I am always a gentleman and a half, and with a fraud I try to be a fraud and a half.

A journalist is a person who has mistaken their calling.

To retain respect for sausages and laws, one must not watch them in the making.

When you say you agree to a thing in principle you mean that you have not the slightest intention of carrying it out in practice.

Whoever speaks of Europe is wrong: it is a geographical expression.

A government must not waiver once it has chosen it's course. It must not look to the left or right but go forward.

A statesman... must wait until he hears the steps of God sounding through events, then leap up and grasp the hem of His garment.

All treaties between great states cease to be binding when they come in conflict with the struggle for existence.

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

No civilization other than that which is Christian, is worth seeking or possessing.

Politics is not an exact science.