Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others.
What we learn from History is that no one learns from History.
We live in a wondrous time in which the strong is weak because of his moral scruples and the weak grows strong because of his audacity.
God has a special providence for fools, drunks, and the United States of America.
The main thing is to make history, not to write it.
Fools you are who say you like to learn from your mistakes. I prefer to learn from the mistakes of others, and avoid the cost of my own.
The secret of politics? Make a good treaty with Russia.
Great men have great dogs.
You can do anything with children if you only play with them.
Fools learn from experience. I prefer to learn from the experience of others.
I have often regretted what I have eaten, but never what I have drunk.
People who love sausage and people who believe in justice should never watch either of them being made.
You can’t destroy the Polish national consciousness, or Poles on the battlefield, but if you give them power, they will destroy themselves.
Earthly majesty is always akin to the fallen angel, who is proud and unhappy, beautiful but troubled, and whose plans and efforts, though vast, are denied access.
Be polite; write diplomatically; even in a declaration of war one observes the rules of politeness.
Preventive war is like committing suicide out of fear of death.
When you want to fool the world, tell the truth.
It is the destiny of the weak to be devoured by the strong.
I have always found the word ‘Europe’ on the lips of those who wanted something from others which they dared not demand in their own names!
One can put some trust in the gratitude of a sovereign, and also in that of his family; under certain conditions, one can even rely upon it; but one can never expect anything from the gratitude of a nation.