“No civilization other than that which is Christian, is worth seeking or possessing.”

Beware of sentimental alliances where the consciousness of good deeds is the only compensation for noble sacrifices.

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

Government is cancerous in head and limbs;only its belly is sound, and the laws it excretes are the most strightforward shit in the world.

Love is blind; friendship tries not to notice.

Laws are like medicine; they generally cure an evil by a lesser or a passing evil.

Whoever speaks of Europe is wrong: it is a geographical expression.

Hounds follow those who feed them.

Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made.

A government must not waiver once it has chosen its course. It must not look to the left or right but go forward.

History is simply a piece of paper covered with print: the main thing is to make history, not to write it.

Nothing should be left to an invaded people except their eyes for weeping.

A generation that has taken a beating is always followed by a generation that deals one.

Politics are not a science based on logic; they are the capacity of always choosing at each instant, in constantly changing situations, the least harmful, the most useful.

The secret of politics? Make a good treaty with Russia.

The main thing is to make history, not to write it.

We Germans fear God, but nothing else in the world.

The art of meditation is a way of getting into touch with reality, and the reason for it is that most civilized people are out of touch with reality.

It would be wonderful if I could see the end of civilization during my lifetime.

I think that in the essence of human civilization, we have the desire to become rich without limit, by taking the lives of other creatures.

I think that in the essence of human civilization, we have the desire to become rich without limit, by taking the lives of other creatures.

Despite all the achievements of civilisation, the human being is still one of the most vulnerable creatures on earth.

The diseases that we civilized people labor under most are melancholy and pessimism.

The Russian people and Russian culture are the linchpin, the glue that binds together this unique civilization.

I think the health of our civilization, the depth of our awareness about the underpinnings of our culture and our concern for the future can all be tested by how well we support our libraries.