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The king reigns but does not govern.

— Otto von Bismarck

Der König herrscht aber regiert nicht.

Original text (German)

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Leadership

More quotes by Otto von Bismarck

Preventive war is like committing suicide for fear of death.

Politics is the art of the possible.

A statesman cannot create anything himself. He must wait and listen until he hears the steps of God sounding through events; then leap up and grasp the hem of His garment.

We Germans fear God, but nothing else in the world; and it is the fear of God, which lets us love and foster peace.

I am accustomed to pay men back in their own coin.

To the Ultramontanes (1870)

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Otto von Bismarck (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.