Otto von Bismarck

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

Politics is the art of the next best.

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

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

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

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

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

A journalist is a person who has mistaken their calling.

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

Politics is not an exact science.

Politics ruins the character.

Politics is the art of the possible.

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

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

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