Otto von Bismarck — "To be a good politician, you must have a thick skin and a clear conscience."

"Not through speeches and majority decisions will the great questions of the day be settled - that was the great mistake of 1848 and 1849 - but by iron and blood."

"Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others."

"A statesman cannot create anything, he must wait and listen until he hears the steps of God sounding through events, and then spring and seize the hem of His garment."

"It is not by speeches and resolutions that the great problems of the day are decided, but by blood and iron."

"You can do everything with bayonets, but you are not able to sit on them."