My subject is my life, and my life is my subject.

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

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

The division of the United States into federations of equal force was decided long before the Civil War by the high financial powers of Europe. These bankers were afraid that the United States, if they remained in one block and as one nation, would attain economic and financial independence, which would upset their financial domination over the world. The voice of the Rothschilds prevailed... Therefore they sent their emissaries into the field to exploit the question of slavery and to open an abyss between the two sections of the Union.

I do not regard the procuring of peace as a matter in which we should play the role of arbiter between different opinions ... more that of an honest broker who really wants to press the business forward.

This policy cannot succeed through speeches, and shooting-matches, and songs; it can only be carried out through blood and iron.

An appeal to fear never finds an echo in German hearts.