Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made.
Otto von Bismarck
There is a Providence that protects idiots, drunkards, children and the United States of America.
Politics is the art of the possible.
The great questions of the day will not be settled by means of speeches and majority decisions but by iron and blood.
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.
With a gentleman I am always a gentleman and a half, and with a fraud I try to be a fraud and a half.
Anyone who has ever looked into the glazed eyes of a soldier dying on the battlefield will think hard before starting a war.
When you want to fool the world, tell the truth.
The secret of politics? Make a good treaty with Russia.
The main thing is to make history, not to write it.
A statesman... must wait until he hears the steps of God sounding through events, then leap up and grasp the hem of His garment.
Politics is not an exact science.
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.
A government must not waiver once it has chosen it's course. It must not look to the left or right but go forward.
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.
To retain respect for sausages and laws, one must not watch them in the making.
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 journalist is a person who has mistaken their calling.
Politics is the art of the next best.
Whoever speaks of Europe is wrong: it is a geographical expression.
Politics ruins the character.
No civilization other than that which is Christian, is worth seeking or possessing.
An appeal to fear never finds an echo in German hearts.
