What we learn from History is that no one learns from History

People never lie so much as after a hunt, during a war or before an election.

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.

Never fight with Russian. On your every stratagem they answer unpredictable stupidity.

Better pointed bullets than pointed words.

The position of Prussia in Germany will not be determined by its liberalism but by its power ... Prussia must concentrate its strength and hold it for the favorable moment, which has already come and gone several times. Since the treaties of Vienna, our frontiers have been ill-designed for a healthy body politic. Not through speeches and majority decisions will the great questions of the day be decided - that was the great mistake of 1848 and 1849 - but by iron and blood (Eisen und Blut).

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.