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Quote by Carl von Clausewitz

Work

On war: Translated from the German by O.J. Matthijs Jolles

This book is a translation of a classic treatise on military strategy and tactics, originally composed in German. It delves into the fundamental concepts and principles that govern warfare, providing a comprehensive analysis of military operations and the art of war. more

Author

Carl von Clausewitz
Carl von Clausewitz

Carl von Clausewitz, born on July 1, 1780, and died on November 16, 1831, was a Prussian military theorist and historian. He is considered one of the founders of modern military theory. Clausewitz's most famous work, 'On War,' has had a profound impact on military strategy and warfare theory to this day. more

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“The common man, finding himself in a world so excellent, technically and socially, believes it has been produced by nature, and never thinks of the personal efforts of highly endowed individuals which the creation of this new world presupposed. Still less will he admit the notion that all these facilities still require the support of certain difficult human virtues, the least failure of which would cause the rapid disappearance of the whole magnificent edifice.”

“A society where the simple many obey the few seers can live; a society where all were seers could live even more fully. But a society where the mass is still simple and the seers are no longer attended to can achieve only superficiality, baseness, ugliness, and in the end extinction. On or back we must go: to stay here is death.”

“The folly of Interpreters has been, to foretell times and things by this Prophecy, as if God designed to make them Prophets. By this rashness they have not only exposed themselves, but brought the Prophecy also into contempt. The design of God was much otherwise. He gave this and the Prophecies of the Old Testament, not to gratify mens curiosities by enabling them to foreknow things, but that after they were fulfilled they might be interpreted by the event, and his own Providence, not the Interpreters, be then manifested thereby to the world.”