Otto von Bismarck

“Politics is not an exact science.”

“Better pointed bullets than pointed speeches.”

“(The great questions of the day) are not decided by speeches and majority votes, but by blood and iron.”

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

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

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

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

“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.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I have seen three emperors in their nakedness, and the sight was not inspiring.”

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

“A journalist is a person who has mistaken their calling.”

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

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