Otto von Bismarck

"Cowards die a thousand times before their death."

"The achievement of perfection is unattainable but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence."

"In diplomacy, yield when you must, but never surrender your principles."

"The less one knows about the actual truth of things, the more apt one is to accept anything."

"To preserve the peace, prepare for war."

"Man can create the conditions for genius, but he cannot create genius itself."

"Before every judgment, one should inquire about the truth."

"The masses need an ideal, but we should not tell them that it is a lie."

"A statesman who takes the past for granted is worthless for the present."

"A man's own judgment should be the final appeal."

"Nations are not ruined by one act of violence, but gradually destroyed by injustice."

"The strong must dominate the weak or they shall be dominated by them."

"I have had many teachers, but the greatest was my conscience."

"Not by speeches and votes of the majority are the great questions of the time decided."

"Sacrifice everything for the good of the nation."

"The art of politics is to know at which moment to abandon a principle."

"Honesty is the best policy, but also the most expensive."

"A diplomat who says yes means maybe, maybe means no, and no means absolutely."

"The only sound foundation of theology is to ascertain the character of God."

"If one could only teach the English how to talk and the Irish how to listen."

"Persecution is not an argument; it is a confession."

"The great decisions are not made by the people; they are made by the leaders."

"Empathy is the beginning of morality."

"The times are not good unless you make them good."

"Victory is three-quarters will and one-quarter intellect."

"Character is the capital upon which greatness is built."

"Every nation has the right to choose its own path to ruin."

"Tell the truth and let the devil take the hindmost."

"Nothing is permanent but change itself."

"The people's voice is often the voice of folly."