Otto von Bismarck's Quotes you should know | Pure - Quotes & Wisdom

Anyone who has ever looked into the glazed eyes of a soldier dying on the battlefield will think hard before starting a war. Never believe anything in politics until it has been officially denied. People never lie so much as after a hunt, during a war, or before an election. Politics is the art of the possible. With a gentleman I am always a gentleman and a half, and with a fraud I try to be a fraud and a half. When you want to fool the world, tell the truth. Be polite, write diplomatically, even in a declaration of war one observes the rules of politeness. 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. All treaties between great states cease to be binding when they come in conflict with the struggle for existence. I have seen three emperors in their nakedness and the sight was not inspiring. The main thing is to make history, not to write it. To retain respect for sausages and laws, one must not watch them in the making. Politics is not an exact science. Politics is the art of the next best. A government must not waver once it has chosen its course. It must not look to the left or right but go forward. Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others. Preventive war is like committing suicide out of fear of death. It is the destiny of the weak to be devoured by the strong. 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. Man cannot control the current of events. He can only float with them and steer. Hounds follow those who feed them. 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. We live in a wondrous time in which the strong is weak because of his scruples and the weak grows strong because of his audacity. Life is like being at the dentist. You always think that the worst is still to come and yet it is over already. A conquering army on the border will not be stopped by eloquence. Political judgment is the ability to hear the distant hoof beats of the horse of history. The life of a man is like a game of chess which he plays according to his art.