With bad laws and good civil servants it's still possible to govern. But with bad civil servants even the best laws can't help.

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

Our German forefathers had a very kind religion. They believed that, after death, they would meet again all the good dogs that had been their companions in life. I wish I could believe that too.

The government should cultivate the view also among the propertyless classes of the population, those who are the most numerous and the least educated, that the state is not only an institution of necessity but also of welfare. By recognizable and direct advantages they must be led to look upon the state not as an agency devised solely for the protection of the better-situated classes of society but also as one serving their needs and interests.

The statesman's task is to hear God's footsteps marching through history, and to try and catch on to His coattails as He marches past.

There are two things civilized Man should never see being made: Sausages and Laws.

We are better off not knowing how sausages and laws are made.