Otto Von Bismarck's Quotes You Should Know Before You Get Old

People never lie so much as before an election, during a war, or after a hunt. Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others. We live in a wondrous time, in which the strong are weak because of their scruples, and the weak grow strong because of their audacity. Man cannot control the current of events. He can only float with them and steer. When you want to fool the world, tell the truth. Preventive war is like committing suicide out of fear of death. Laws are like sausages. It's better not to see them being made. It is the destiny of the weak to be devoured by the strong. Be polite. Write diplomatically. Even in a declaration of war, one observes the rules of politeness. Politics is the art of the possible, the attainable, the art of the next best. Never believe anything in politics until it has been officially denied. Politics is not an exact science. Hounds follow those who feed them. The greatest questions of the day will not be settled by means of speeches and majority of decisions, but by iron and blood. The main thing is to make history, not to write it. Political judgment is the ability to hear the distant hoofbeats of the horse of history. A conquering army on the border will not be stopped by eloquence. Life is like being at the dentist. You always think that the worst is still to come, and yet it is over already. What we learn from history is that no one learns from history. The life of a man is like a game of chess, which he plays according to his art. A rich society must care for the poor. Woo to the leader whose arguments at the end of a war are not as plausible as they were at the beginning. If you want to build socialism, choose a country that you don't care for. Beer makes you lazy, stupid, and powerless. Anyone who has ever looked into the glassy eyes of a soldier dying on the battlefield will think twice before starting a war. Freedom is a luxury that not everyone can afford. One and only one person must be responsible for every assigned task. With bad laws and good officials, it is quite possible to rule the country. But if the officials are bad, even the best laws will not help. Stupidity is a gift from God, but it should not be abused. Life has taught me a lot to forgive, but even more to seek forgiveness. The attitude of the state towards the teacher is a state policy that testifies either to the strength of the state or to its weakness. When the arguments end, the guns begin to speak. Strength is the last argument of a dullard. I was destined by nature to become a diplomat. I was born on the first of April. Friendship between a man and a woman is very weak at nightfall. The strong are always right. Never trust Russians, because Russians don't even trust themselves. The government should not hesitate. Once having back chosen the road, it must, without looking to the right and left, go to the end. We are all a people, and so is the government. A wise person is only one who knows not much, but the necessary. Even a victorious war is an evil that must be averted by the wisdom of the nations. With a gentleman, I'm always a gentleman and a half. And with a fraud, I try to be a fraud and a half. Avoid people who try to diminish your ambitions. 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. Always beware of building castles in the air. These buildings are the easiest to build, but the hardest to destroy. All treaties between great states cease to be binding when they come in conflict with the struggle for existence. Fools say that they learn by experience. I prefer to profit from others' experience. The statesman's task is to hear God's footsteps marching through history, and to try and catch on his coattails as he marches past. A really great man is known by three signs, generosity in the design, humanity in the execution, modernization in success. We Germans fear God, but nothing else in the world. A little caution outflanks a large cavalry. My subject is my life, and my life is my subject. I am accustomed to paying men back in their own coin. Better pointed bullets than pointed speeches. Show me an objective worthy of war, and I will go along with you. Beware of sentimental alliances where the consciousness of good deeds is the only compensation for noble sacrifices. Appreciate your trader because a trader is the best teacher. The more you think about money, the more you spend it. Avoid a friend who knows everything about you.