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Emil Ludwig Quotes

1881–1948 Germany

Emil Ludwig (January 25, 1881 – September 17, 1948) was a German-Swiss author, known for his biographies and study of historical "greats."

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Random Emil Ludwig quote

38 quotes

Intrigue is always at the bottom of all political activities.

Wilhelm Hohenzollern: The Last of the Kaisers (1926)

The logic of the machine checkmates its constructor and makes him its slave.

Wilhelm Hohenzollern: The Last of the Kaisers (1926)

His extreme vanity soon led him to imagine that he was really among the most remarkable of men.

Wilhelm Hohenzollern: The Last of the Kaisers (1926)

To Eulenburg Bülow owed his whole career—which, when all is said, remains the only statesmanlike one of the William the Second’s reign.

Wilhelm Hohenzollern: The Last of the Kaisers (1926)

Wealth, as such, impressed him deeply; his unromantic spirit respected this modern form of power—riches, no matter how acquired, were a sufficient attraction.

Wilhelm Hohenzollern: The Last of the Kaisers (1926)

His versatility turns out to be mere superficiality; his private life is narrowly watched, and the general conclusion is that he spends most of his time in amusing himself.

Wilhelm Hohenzollern: The Last of the Kaisers (1926)

The State has no higher purpose than the protection of its interests. These, however, for Great Powers, are not necessarily identical with the preservation of peace.

Wilhelm Hohenzollern: The Last of the Kaisers (1926)

His mother said: “Don’t for a moment imagine that my son ever does anything from any motive but vanity.”

Wilhelm Hohenzollern: The Last of the Kaisers (1926)

All these blunders were, in war as in peace, the outcome of the deceptive selection and presentation of news.

Wilhelm Hohenzollern: The Last of the Kaisers (1926)

In only one respect were the Foreign Office and the Emperor completely in accord—each thought and said that the other was crazy.

Wilhelm Hohenzollern: The Last of the Kaisers (1926)

So in this matter also he attributed his own perfidy to others, vindicating thus his own political propensities.

Wilhelm Hohenzollern: The Last of the Kaisers (1926)

He is past-master in the technique of platform speaking, and he can be humorous, grave, witty, tragic and cynical as the occasion requires.

Three Portraits: Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin (1940)

They did this on the contemptible pretext, pleaded by all unscrupulous and ambitious placemen, that the country stood in need of their services.

Wilhelm Hohenzollern: The Last of the Kaisers (1926)

The responsibility of the Sovereign was supreme, and as a consequence the whole extent of the various failures, or even the final defeat, is primarily attributable to him.

Wilhelm Hohenzollern: The Last of the Kaisers (1926)

A sacred duty is imposed by Heaven on us Christian Kings and Emperors—to uphold the doctrine of the Divine Right of Kings.

Wilhelm Hohenzollern: The Last of the Kaisers (1926)

William the Second was not equal to Fate’s crucial moments.

Wilhelm Hohenzollern: The Last of the Kaisers (1926)

Dictatorship... is devoid of humor. The basic reason why Americans will never endure a dictator is... their sense of humor.

The decision to kiss for the first time is the most crucial in any love story. It changes the relationship of two people much more strongly than even the final surrender; because this kiss already has within it that surrender.

Of Life and Love (2005)

Hitler resolved to prove to the world that he had come, a new Saint George, to slay the dragon of communism.

Three Portraits: Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin (1940)

The Germans were wretched so long as they had no sword.

Three Portraits: Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin (1940)

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Emil Ludwig (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.