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Sire, I am my own Rudolph of Hapsburg.
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Ability is of little account without opportunity. I have very rarely met with two o'clock in the morning courage: I mean instantaneous courage.
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God has given me the will and the force to overcome all obstacles.
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War justifies everything.
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In my youth I, too, entertained some illusions; but I soon recovered from them.
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The worse the troops the greater the need of artillery.
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Medicine is a collection of uncertain prescriptions, the results of which, taken collectively, are more fatal than useful to mankind.
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In politics nothing is immutable. Events carry within them an invincible power.
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To make yourself understood to people, one must first speak to their eyes.
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If we could read the past histories of all our enemies we would disregard all hostility for them.
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Machiavelli is right: one always must live with one's friends with the idea that they may turn into one's enemies. He should have said, with everyone.
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An army travels on its stomach. Soup makes the soldier.
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You do not get peace by shouting: Peace. Peace is a meaningless word; what we need is a glorious peace.
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I see only my objective - the obstacles must give way.
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The strong are good, only the weak are wicked.
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Passions change, politics are immutable.
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An army must have but one line of operations. This must be maintained with care and abandoned only for major reasons.
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Show me a family of readers, and I will show you the people who move the world.
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As a rule it is circumstances that make men.
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Ambition never is in a greater hurry that I; it merely keeps pace with circumstances and with my general way of thinking.
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Do you know what astonished me the most in this world? The inability of force to create anything.
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The purely defensive is doomed to defeat.
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A man like me troubles himself little about a million men.
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Good infantry is without doubt the sinews of an army; but if it has to fight a long time against very superior artillery, it will become demoralized and will be destroyed.