Otto von Bismarck Quotes
Books by Otto von Bismarck
Best 13 Quotes by Otto von Bismarck
“A little caution outflanks a large cavalry.”
“Anyone who has ever looked into the glazed eyes of a soldier dying on the battlefield will think hard before starting a war.”
“Fools learn from experience. I prefer to learn from the experience of others.”
“Hounds follow those who feed them.”
“It is the destiny of the weak to be devoured by the strong.”
“Laws are like medicine: They generally cure an evil by a lesser or a passing evil.”
“Laws are like sausages: It’s better not to see them being made.”
“Never believe anything in politics until it has been officially denied.”
“Preventive war is like committing suicide out of fear of death.”
“The main thing is to make history, not to write it.”
“When I have laid bait for deer, I don’t shoot at the first doe that comes to sniff, but wait until the whole herd has gathered round.”
“When you want to fool the world, tell the truth.”
“With a gentleman I am always a gentleman and a half, and when I have to do with a pirate, I try to be a pirate and a half.”
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“When a cycle of civilisation is reaching its end, it is difficult to achieve anything by resisting it and by directly opposing the forces in motion. The current is too strong; one would be overwhelmed.
The essential thing is to not let oneself be impressed by the omnipotence and apparent triumph of the forces of the epoch. These forces, devoid of connection with any higher principle, are in fact, on a short chain. One should not become fixated on the present, and on things at hand, but keep in view the conditions that may come about in the future.
Thus the principle to follow could be that of letting the forces and processes of this epoch take their own course, while keeping oneself firm and ready to intervene when 'the tiger, which cannot leap of the person riding it, is tired of running'.”
