Bismarck-Schönhausen, Otto von

That is the German national character: He always wants the best and loses the good because of it

Life is like a skillful tooth extraction. One thinks that the real thing is only to come, until one realizes with astonishment that it is already over

In European disputes, where there is no competent court of justice, the law can only be asserted by bayonets

The phrase "a miracle" always elicits an inner smile at the lack of logic; for every minute we see miracles and nothing but such

The brandy is the drink of the famous poor man

From the moment he is a priest, the Catholic priest is a regiment officer of the Pope

The newspaper writer is a man who has failed in his profession

The first generation creates fortunes, the second manages fortunes, the third studies art history, and the fourth perishes

Freedom is a luxury that not everyone can afford

The majority has many hearts, but it has not one heart

Politics is not a science, as many of the professors imagine, but an art

For me, the press is printer's ink on paper

The fear of responsibility is a disease of our time

A good horse dies in the Sielen

A great state does not govern itself according to party views

It is part of the German need to speak badly of the government over beer

There is hardly a word more abused these days than the word "free". I don't trust the word, for the reason that nobody wants freedom for everyone; everyone wants them for themselves