Laws are like sausages. You sleep far better the less you know about how they are made.
Otto Von BismarckRead
One day the great European War will come out of some damned foolish thing in the Balkans (1888).
Interpretation
Bismarck suggests that a significant conflict may arise from seemingly minor events, highlighting the unpredictability of war.
This quote by Otto Von Bismarck reflects his belief in the potential for a small incident to escalate into a large-scale conflict, particularly in the volatile political landscape of the Balkans. It underscores the theme of unintended consequences in geopolitics, suggesting that the spark for a major war can come from sources that seem trivial at first glance.
In practice
In a discussion about the causes of World War I, one might quote Bismarck to emphasize how minor incidents can have vast implications.
Laws are like sausages. You sleep far better the less you know about how they are made.
Preventive war is like committing suicide out of fear of death.
With a gentleman I am always a gentleman and a half, and with a fraud I try to be a fraud and a half.
Politics is the art of the possible, the attainable β the art of the next best
It is the destiny of the weak to be devoured by the strong.
A generation that has taken a beating is always followed by a generation that deals one.
There are a whole lot of historical factors that have played a part in our being where we are today, and I think that to even to begin to understand our contemporary issues and contemporary problems, you have to understand a little bit about that history.
Would America have been America without her Negro people?
The Germans could not get over the perfidy of it. It was unbelievable that the English, having degenerated to the stage where suffragettes heckled the Prime Minister and defied the police, were going to fight.
Well-behaved women seldom make history.
Strange as it may seem, George Washington's life has now been so minutely documented that we know far more about him than did his own friends, family, and contemporaries.
History is the distillation of rumour.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.