"One day the great European War will come out of some damned foolish thing in the Balkans (1888)."

"The art of statesmanship is to steer a course through the rapids, not to create them."

"A conquering army is always in the right."

"Not by speeches and votes of the majority are the great questions of time decided — that was the great error of 1848 and 1849 — but by iron and blood."

"Faust complained about having two souls in his breast, but I harbor a whole crowd of them and they quarrel. It is like being in a republic."