Otto von Bismarck

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Otto von Bismarck

Prince Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg (1 April 1815 - 30 July 1898) German aristocrat and statesman; Prime Minister of Prussia (1862 -1890), First Chancellor of Germany (1871 - 1890); he is nicknamed the Iron Chancellor.

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Nicht durch Reden und Majoritätsbeschlüsse werden die großen Fragen der Zeit entschieden — das ist der große Fehler von 1848 und 1849 gewesen — sondern durch Eisen und Blut.
- Not by speeches and votes of the majority, are the great questions of the time decided — that was the error of 1848 and 1849 — but by iron and blood.
- Speech to the Prussian Diet (30 September 1862). After some objections to his initial speech he returned to the podium and declared: "I must protest that I would never seek foreign conflicts just to get over domestic difficulties; that would be frivolous. I was speaking of conflicts that we could not avoid, even though we do not seek them."
- Variant translations: The great questions of the time are not decided by speeches and majority decisions — that was the error of 1848 and 1849 — but by iron and blood.
  The great issues of the day are not decided through speeches and majority resolutions — that was the great error of 1848 and 1849 — but through blood and iron.
  The great questions of the day will not be decided by speeches and the resolutions of majorities — that was the great mistake from 1848 to 1849 — but by blood and iron.
  The great questions of the day will not be settled by means of speeches and majority decisions ... but by iron and blood.

A conquering army on the border will not be stopped by eloquence.
- Speech to North German Reichstag (24 September 1867)

Setzen wir Deutschland, so zu sagen, in den Sattel! Reiten wird es schon können.
- Let us lift Germany, so to speak, into the saddle. It will certainly be able to ride.
- Speech to Parliament of Confederation (1867)

He who has his thumb on the purse has the power.
- Speech to North German Reichstag (21 May 1869)

Give the working-man the right to work as long as he is healthy; assure him care when he is sick; assure him maintenance when he is old.
- Speech to the Reichstag (1862)

With bad laws and good civil servants it's still possible to govern. But with bad civil servants even the best laws can't help.

The luxury of one's own opinion.
- Speech to the Prussian Diet (17 December 1873)

Politics is not an exact science . . . but an art.
- Speech (15 March 1884)

Wir Deutschen fürchten Gott, sonst aber Nichts in der Welt; und diese Gottesfurcht ist es schon, die uns den Frieden lieben und pflegen lässt.
- We Germans fear God, but nothing else in the world; and already that godliness is it, which let us love and foster peace.
- Speech to the Reichstag (6 February 1888)

Your map of Africa is really quite nice. But my map of Africa lies in Europe. Here is Russia, and here... is France, and we're in the middle — that's my map of Africa.
- Conversation with a colonial enthusiast revealing his disapproval of Colonialism. (1888)

Der alte Jude, das ist der Mann.
- The old Jew, he is the man.
- A conversation in 1879 on who was the centre of gravity at the Congress of Berlin, referring to Benjamin Disraeli

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Der König herrscht aber regiert nicht.
- The king reigns but does not govern.

Ich bin gewöhnt in der Münze wiederzuzahlen in der man mich bezahlt.
- I am accustomed to pay men back in their own coin.

Lieber Spitzkugeln als Spitzreden.
- Better pointed bullets than pointed speeches.

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

A journalist is a person who has mistaken their calling.

A little caution outflanks a large cavalry.

A really great man is known by three signs— generosity in the design, humanity in the execution, moderation in success.
- Variant: The three signs of great men are— generosity in the design, humanity in the execution, moderation in success.

A statesman... must wait until he hears the steps of God sounding through events, then leap up and grasp the hem of His garment.

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

Be polite; write diplomatically; even in a declaration of war one observes the rules of politeness.

Beware of sentimental alliances where the consciousness of good deeds is the only compensation for noble sacrifices.

I have never lived on principles. When I have had to act, I never first asked myself on what principles I was going to act, but I went at it and did what I thought fit. I have often reproached myself for my want of principle.

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

If there is ever another war in Europe, it will come out of some damned silly thing in the Balkans. (almost perfectly describes World War I, which occured well after his death)

Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made.
- Variants: To retain respect for sausages and laws, one must not watch them in the making.
  If you like laws and sausages, you should never watch either one being made.

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

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

Politics is the art of the possible.

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

What we learn from history is that no one learns from history.

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

The whole of the Balkans is not worth the bones of a single Pomeranian grenadier.

There is a Providence that protects idiots, drunkards, children and the United States of America.

You can't destroy the Poles but if you give them power they'll destroy themselves.

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