My dear Professor, a war would have cost us at least 30,000 brave soldiers, and at best we should have gained nothing by it. Besides, anyone who has once looked into the glassy eyes of a dying warrior on the battle-field would think twice before beginning a war.
Mein lieber Professor, ein solcher Krieg hätte uns wenigstens 30,000 Mann brave Soldaten gekostet, und uns im besten Falle keinen Gewinn gebracht. Wer aber nur ein Mal in das brechende Auge eines sterbenden Kriegers auf dem Schlachtfeld geblickt hat, der besinnt sich, bevor er einen Krieg anfängt.
Original text (German)
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Notes from Wikiquote
Remarks of June 1867 defending provisions of the Treaty of London (11 May 1867), as quoted in Prince Bismarck : A Biographical Sketch (1875) by Wilhelm Görlach, p. 13; prior to these remarks he is quoted as having said: "All those who surrounded the King desired war; I was the only one who emphatically opposed it; I even offered to resign." | Commonly used variant found in many sources since the 1990s, including Tips for Time Travelers (1999) by Peter Cochrane, p. 187