Post your favourite historical quote :king:

And if there's some story connected with that quote, plz tell it :)

P.S. Quotes from historical persons only plz, not some movie stars or musicians ;)

"Those who forget History are condemned to repeat it". Some Spanish Journalist IIRC

"To the German Commander, "Nuts!" The American Commander." - General Tony McAuliffe, Bastogne, December 22nd, 1944

"The laws are silent in times of war."
-Cicero

"If I'd known they had that many tanks I'd have thought twice about invading".

Allegedly Adolf Hitler about Russia.

It is a Bismarck quote, but I can't remember exactly how it goes :sad: Something like this:

"If there will ever be another war in Europe, it will be out of some damned silly thing in the Balkans".

Bismarck died in 1898, everyone know what happened in Sarajevo 1914.

I'll edit as soons as I know.

Edit: "If there is ever another war in Europe, it will come out of some damned silly thing in the Balkans."

My first guess was close :D

"Mercy is for the dogs"-Josef Stalin

"May god have mercy on my eneimies because I won't"-General Patton

"You were born to die for Germany"-Adolf Hitler

"Gratitude is a disease of the dogs"-Josef Stalin

"Ignorance and Superstition they are like twin idiots running rampant through the land"-Aristotle

A favourite quote of mine, and also the most short and to the point speech to the troops before a battle I've ever read, is from King Henry IV of France at the Battle of Ivry 1590

"I am your King. You are Frenchmen. There is the enemy. Charge!"

He won the battle by the way :D



Another quote is from Helmuth Von Molke German Army Chief of Staff at the start of World war One.

"Everlasting peace is a dream, and not even a pleasant one. And war is a necessary part of Gods arrangement of the world... without war the world would slide into materialism"

Someone remarked to Wellington that the French cavalry (at Waterloo) had "come up well" to which he replied, "yes, and they went down well too" :D

We always have been, we are, and I hope that we always shall be detested in France.

Wellington showing his thoughts on our neighbour :D

“They are the scum of the Earth, but what fine fellows we have turned them into”.

Wellington on his army, the bit from "but" is usually left out though.

A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.

Churchill

i think it was patton who said " Kill em all.... let god sort em out.

The first that comes to mind from Argentina: "it was necessary that much water to put off so much fire", from a 19th century politician, referring ot Mariano Moreno, an oppositor, after he was thrown to the sea (he drowned).

''It is childish to ask were the war is, a border itself is a war''

-- Sun tzu

" the only thing we learn from history, is that we learn nothing from history" george bernard shaw

Someone remarked to Wellington that the French cavalry (at Waterloo) had "come up well" to which he replied, "yes, and they went down well too" :D

We always have been, we are, and I hope that we always shall be detested in France.

Wellington showing his thoughts on our neighbour :D

“They are the scum of the Earth, but what fine fellows we have turned them into”.

Wellington on his army, the bit from "but" is usually left out though.

A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.

Churchill

Excellent p h ! :goodjob: I like all of these :cool: .

"This is my last territorial claim in Europe." /Hitler, after getting his dirty hands on Czechoslovakia...
Ironic, isn't it?

"I am your King. You are Frenchmen. There is the enemy. Charge!"


See, now this is a lot like what Henry V should have said before Agincourt, it would have sounded a lot better to say

Look lads, they're french! You don't need no fancy words, lets just do what the English do best and kick their butts! :mischief:

IIRC The Tsar Peter the Great while on a visit to Paris was riding through the streets. During his journey a young French Lady stumbled in front of his horse and went sprawling, legs akimbo, revealing the historically interesting fact that she wasn't wearing any knickers. Peter, never one to miss strategic or tactical opportuinites that happen to present themselves commented "that the gates to paradise were open!"

i think it was patton who said " Kill em all.... let god sort em out.
If he was, he was quoting Arnaud Aumary, abbot for the Cïteaux monastery, pepal legate and spiritual leader of the Albigensian crusade in southern France.

At the sack of the city of Bézier in 1209, the 30.000 citizens (pretty big for the middle ages) were massacred for not having surrendered their city and their heretic fellow citizens. (The wast majority of the killed were good catholics.)
When asked what to do with them, Aumary is supposed to have said: "Kill them, God will know his own."

It's been debated IF he really said this (it's in the chronickle of Caesarius of Heisterbach) but general consent seems to be that, he very well might have. It would have been a comment in character for him.

"Merde!"

General Cambronne, commander of the Imperial Guard at Waterloo. Upon being asked to surrender. (The sanitized version has him saying: "The Guard dies, but it does not surrender.")
It's gone down in French history as "le mot de Cambronne"/Cambronne's word.
(For French speakers: http://perso.club-internet.fr/ameliefr/Mot-de-Cambronne.html)

'' There is a huge difference between warrior and a soldier: Warrior fights for glory and ''honor''... but a soldier fights to protect his family and homeland, Mostly from warriors ''

I can't remeber who..

Verbose:

Hmmm...
The irony of course is that Cambronne was captured by a Colonel Halkett and most certainly did surrender. Some also attribute the remark to General Michel rather than Cambronne. Michel, the commander of the Middle Guard Brigade and second in command of the Chasseurs of the Guard did not surrender, he died.

Cambronne was also said to have denied that he said the longer remark, and the singular use probably refers more to Merde than the longer version anyway as you're probably aware. The longer version, and the historical use of it owes much to Victor Hugo from what I have read. I can't tell what the link says about it as I don't read French too well, but the issue is certainly unclear as to if Cambronne ever made that remark, or whether it was attributed to him after the fact. Either way it didn't suit him too well as he died in 1842 ;)

It's simple "I came, I saw, I Conquerd"

"Historical phenomenon always occur twice; the first time as tragedy, the second as farce."
— Karl Marx

"History teaches us that we learn nothing from it."
— Friedrich Hegel

"Those who forget History are condemned to repeat it". Some Spanish Journalist IIRC

Actually George Santayana, American (albeit Spanish-born) philosopher (1863-1952).

What he actually said was "those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it".

He was in fact referring to the plight of primitive peoples with no developed sense of history, although the quotation is generally now used to mean people who wilfully ignore the lessons of the past.

Another good Santayana quotation is:

"Fanaticism consists in redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim."

"Historical phenomenon always occur twice; the first time as tragedy, the second as farce."
— Karl Marx

"History teaches us that we learn nothing from it."
— Friedrich Hegel

Is the second quote G.W.F. Hegel, or Friedrich Nietzsche? (Or Hegel's son/grandson?) Sounds like something Nietcsche would have said. As for the first, a bit ironic when one compares Hegel's Philosophy of History with Marx's "Philosophy of History."

As for me, there's always been one favorite:

"Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely"

-- Lord Acton

Wilhelm Keitel(upon the invasion of France by the Allies): What do we do next?
FieldMarshall Rundstedt: Surrender, you fool!

"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he today that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so lowly,"

Shakespeare, Henry V.

"Winston- if you were my husband, I'd poison your coffee!"

"If you were my wife, I'd drink it."

-Winston Churchill.

....and passing comment on Stafford Cripps...

"There, but for the grace of God, goes God."

Winston "Super*****" Churchill.

Robert Lowe - "Look at that fool throwing away his natural advantages" he said when a deaf memeber of parliament raised his ear trumpet.

When asked upon to define the difference between a misfortune and a calamity Benjamin Disraeli answered:

A misfortune would be if Mr Gladstone were to fall into the Thames. A calamity would be if someone pulled him out.

Robert E. Lee:

"It is well that war is so terrible, lest we grow too fond of it."

It is a Bismarck quote, but I can't remember exactly how it goes :sad: Something like this:

"If there will ever be another war in Europe, it will be out of some damned silly thing in the Balkans".

Bismarck died in 1898, everyone know what happened in Sarajevo 1914.

I'll edit as soons as I know.

Edit: "If there is ever another war in Europe, it will come out of some damned silly thing in the Balkans."

My first guess was close :D

Bismarck was remarkably prophetic. He also said that until Europe was sorted into her "tribes" she would see conflict. A statement that rings true even today.

OT:
"One must not judge everyone in the world by his qualities as a soldier:
otherwise we should have no civilization."
- Field Marshal Erwin Rommel

or

"We aimed for the stars, but sometimes we hit London." -Werner von Braun

It's simple "I came, I saw, I Conquerd"

veni vidi vici ;)

Is the second quote G.W.F. Hegel, or Friedrich Nietzsche? (Or Hegel's son/grandson?) Sounds like something Nietcsche would have said.
That would be Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel.
Nietzsche didn't get all the good German philosophical one liners. (Like "It's bad — it's German.")

There is none better than Winston Churchill...the greatest war-leader Britain has ever had, in my opinion:


June 18, 1940


"Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, This was their finest hour."


June 4th 1940

... I have, myself, full confidence that if all do their duty, if nothing is neglected, and if the best arrangements are made, as they are being made, we shall prove ourselves once again able to defend our Island home, to ride out the storm of war, and to outlive the menace of tyranny, if necessary for years, if necessary alone.

At any rate, that is what we are going to try to do. That is the resolve of His Majesty's Government-every man of them. That is the will of Parliament and the nation.

The British Empire and the French Republic, linked together in their cause and in their need, will defend to the death their native soil, aiding each other like good comrades to the utmost of their strength.

Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail.

We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.


May 13th 1940 (first speech as Prime Minister)

I would say to the House, as I said to those who have joined this government: "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat."

We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering.

You ask, what is our policy? I can say: It is to wage war, by sea, land and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy.

You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival.

Let that be realised; no survival for the British Empire, no survival for all that the British Empire has stood for, no survival for the urge and impulse of the ages, that mankind will move forward towards its goal. But I take up my task with buoyancy and hope.

I feel sure that our cause will not be suffered to fail among men. At this time I feel entitled to claim the aid of all, and I say, "come then, let us go forward together with our united strength."


The best part being:


You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival.

Verbose:
The irony of course is that Cambronne was captured by a Colonel Halkett and most certainly did surrender. Some also attribute the remark to General Michel rather than Cambronne. Michel, the commander of the Middle Guard Brigade and second in command of the Chasseurs of the Guard did not surrender, he died.
The encyclopedia I just checked states that old Cambronne was badly wounded before being taken prisoner. Nothing about surrendering or Colonel Halkett. Prisoner, yes; surrender, les certain.
Cambronne was also said to have denied that he said the longer remark, and the singular use probably refers more to Merde than the longer version anyway as you're probably aware. The longer version, and the historical use of it owes much to Victor Hugo from what I have read. I can't tell what the link says about it as I don't read French too well, but the issue is certainly unclear as to if Cambronne ever made that remark, or whether it was attributed to him after the fact. Either way it didn't suit him too well as he died in 1842 ;)
The link pretty much says that Cambronne may have tried the heroic longer version first. But the British wouldn't leave it alone, and kept pestering that he should surrender. Finally, in exaspiration, a heartfelt "Merde!" slipped out of the general.
No way of knowing if that is a true version of event either.

As far as I know, Victor Hugo was rather trying to make "le mot de Cambronne" into something that encapsulated the entire spirit of the nation (or somesuch) in a single word picked our of the gutters. ("The Guard dies..." line is a bit too operatic. "Merde!", you can relate to. Hugo would likely have been good enough a writer to tell the difference.)

I refer you to this link (http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/miscellaneous/c_cambronne.html)

Three seperate British accounts refer to him being captured by Halkett when he was seperated from the square he was near. They may differ slightly in detail or analysis, but all refer to Halkett being responsible for the act. Every British account of the battle* I've read so far, plus a French work also mentions his capture by Halkett. As for Hugo, well I guess someone has to do for waterloo what Shakesphere did for Agincourt ;)

What we can be certain of is that even if he was wounded, Cambronne didn't live up to the very words attributed to him ;)

*Except the very basic ones that usually follow the remark by saying that cannon and musket fire soon brought the Guard their wish :mischief: These don't usually mention what happened to Cambronne before or after his remark.

"When Nuclear War starts, and the American Eagle and Russian Bear comes down the mountain and fights, then what? China will come and control both."
-Mao Tse Tung

Two great quotes with real applications in today's world:

"It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world; so far, I mean, as we are now at liberty to do it; for let me not be understood as capable of patronizing infidelity to existing engagements. I hold the maxim no less applicable to public than to private affairs, that honesty is always the best policy. I repeat it, therefore, let those engagements be observed in their genuine sense. But, in my opinion, it is unnecessary and would be unwise to extend them.

Taking care always to keep ourselves by suitable establishments on a respectable defensive posture, we may safely trust to temporary alliances for extraordinary emergencies." George Washington's Farewell Address

Spoken like a true prophet, look where America's entagling foreign alliances have taken it in recent years.

"At what point shall we expect the approach of danger? By what means shall we fortify against it? Shall we expect some transatlantic military giant, to step the Ocean, and crush us at a blow? Never! All the armies of Europe, Asia and Africa combined, with all the treasure of the earth (our own excepted) in their military chest; with a Buonaparte for a commander, could not by force, take a drink from the Ohio, or make a track on the Blue Ridge, in a trial of a thousand years. At what point, then, is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us it must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide." Abraham Lincoln

Fantastic quote, and it will probably turn out true (Though I don't foresee any internal dangers in America).

"When Nuclear War starts, and the American Eagle and Russian Bear comes down the mountain and fights, then what? China will come and control both."
-Mao Tse Tung
'Tis a silly quote.

My favorite:
"The strong do what they want, they weak do what they must. Wet-Willy for you!!"
- Thucydides. (So its not a direct quote, Thucydides... sue me)

“Soft countries breed soft men. It is not the property of any one soil to produce fine fruits and good soldiers too.”

-Cyrus of Achæmenid Persia

“Soft countries breed soft men. It is not the property of any one soil to produce fine fruits and good soldiers too.”

-Cyrus of Achæmenid Persia

i suppose that's kind of ironic, considering how the Greeks viewed the persian influence as effeminate...

"States like these [N. Korea, Iran, Iraq] constitute an Axis of Evil." -George W. Bush

Definately the best and most important quote ever. I have it memorised.

I refer you to this link (http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/miscellaneous/c_cambronne.html)What we can be certain of is that even if he was wounded, Cambronne didn't live up to the very words attributed to him ;)
Oh, I don't know... From a French perspective "Merde!" is a pretty good summing up of Waterloo.:D

Just not the longer version, which i much prefer in some ways

Frenchie: The guard dies, it does not surrender
Brit: Glad to oblige you old chap, FIRE!
2nd Brit: What was a waste of ammunition :lol:

I prefer to think of Michel saying the words if they have to be said at all, at least he had the decency to die and keep them ;)

''Oh yeah, We got the goods to night YES!''
- Conan O'brien

God heals and the Doctor takes the fee.
--Benjamin Franklin

"The sinews of war are infinite money."
-Cicero again.

Yes, I play Rome: Total War.

"States like these [N. Korea, Iran, Iraq] constitute an Axis of Evil." -George W. Bush

Definately the best and most important quote ever. I have it memorised.

:vomit: I can't believe this as a favorite quote :wallbash: It's an incredibly simplistic position for the head of the most powerful nation in the world to take.. scary.

Bismarck was remarkably prophetic. He also said that until Europe was sorted into her "tribes" she would see conflict. A statement that rings true even today.

OT:
"One must not judge everyone in the world by his qualities as a soldier:
otherwise we should have no civilization."
- Field Marshal Erwin Rommel

or

"We aimed for the stars, but sometimes we hit London." -Werner von Braun

I never heard the von Braun quote before :blush: , thanks :goodjob: . Very
good.

General Ludendorff: The English soldiers fight like lions.
General Hoffmann: True. But don't we know they are lions led by donkeys?

i suppose that's kind of ironic, considering how the Greeks viewed the persian influence as effeminate...
Maybe not so strange. After all, we don't have Cyrus on record, just what this Greek guy Herodotus tells us he's supposed to have said.;)

Maybe not so strange. After all, we don't have Cyrus on record, just what this Greek guy Herodotus tells us he's supposed to have said.;)

interesting point :D

Nonconformitist,
The Russians wer meant, not the British. It was before the battle of Tannenberg, when this dialogue took place.

Adler

Bismarck

The secret of politics? Make an alliance with Russia.

I can't believe this as a favorite quote It's an incredibly simplistic position for the head of the most powerful nation in the world to take.. scary.

Hopefully, he was just being somewhat facetious ...

:vomit: I can't believe this as a favorite quote :wallbash: It's an incredibly simplistic position for the head of the most powerful nation in the world to take.. scary.

Sometimes the truth IS scary, but it is still the truth.

The story of the Axis of Evil quote is actually sort of tragic. The speechwriter who coined the phrase (a Canadian, actually) was fired after his wife started bragging that he wrote it. Taking credit for something the President said is a big no-no in the Bush White House.

Poor guy. I hope he divorced that *****.

From now on, ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put. - Sir Winston Churchill

History will be kind to me for I intend to write it. - Sir Winston Churchill

Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened. - Sir Winston Churchill

I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals. - Sir Winston Churchill

When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. - Franklin D. Roosevelt

Genius without education is like silver in the mine. - Benjamin Franklin

My all time favourite is in my sig..and I intend to keep it there for all time.

Of the others well..

"I am become Death. The Destroyer of Worlds". Robert Oppenheimer, quoting the Bhagwat Gita upon seeing the atomic explosion

“Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awaken to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance.’’ — Jawaharlal Nehru, Speech to the Indian Constituent Assembly on Aug. 15, 1947

These are all Patton quotes. I cant pick my favorite because they're all so damn refreshing:
__________________________________________________ __________________

"War is an art and as such is not susceptible of explanation by fixed formula"

"If everyone is thinking alike, someone isn't thinking"

"Few men are killed by the bayonet, many are scared by it"

"Pressure makes diamonds"

"A pint of sweat will save a gallon of blood"

"Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity"

"Just drive down that road, until you get blown up"

"Wonder weapons? My God, i don't see the wonder in them. Killing without heroics, nothing is glorified, nothing reaffirmed. No heros, no cowards, no troops, no generals. Only those who are left alive and those that are left dead. I'm glad I wont live to see it"

"Only the dead have seen the end of war"

-Might've paraphrased it, but I'm pretty sure it's close, And I THINK it came from Plato.

All your bases are belong to us

an eye for an eye until the whole world is blind

an eye for an eye until the whole world is blind

It goes "An eye for an eye would make the whole world blind"-Mahtma Ghandi

"The world provides enough for every man's need but not for every man's greed."-Mahtma Ghandi

Nonconformitist,
The Russians wer meant, not the British. It was before the battle of Tannenberg, when this dialogue took place.

Adler

A right. When I looked it up, and whenever I heard of it, it was always quoted as the British.

"Only the dead have seen the end of war"

-Might've paraphrased it, but I'm pretty sure it's close, And I THINK it came from Plato.
You got it from Rome: Total War, didn't you? :p

Woman: "You're drunk!"
Churchill: "And you, ma'am, are ugly. But on the morrow I shall be sober!"

and,

"Pie corrupts. Absolute pie corrupts absolutely." -Weebl.

One death is a tragedy, a million is a statistic.
Iosif stalin.

the sad thing is it is still relevent today.

The bigger the lie, the harder it is to see the truth.
-grossly paraphrized- Goebels

To each according to his needs, from each according to his abillities. - the one and only, Karl Marx

"An empty cab drew up, and Attlee got out" - Winston Churchill.

"Vox populii, vox humbug" - William T. Sherman.

"Obviously, we have had a major malfunction" - PA Announcer at Cape Canaveral,
immediately after the Challenger exploded.

"I know of only two things that are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and
I am not sure about the former" - Albert Einstein.

When Gladstone told him that he would die either of {I forget} or some terrible
disease, Disraeli replied,

" That depends on whether I embrace your principles or your mistress".

And my personal favorite:

"There are lies, damned lies, and statistics" - Benjamin Disraeli

When Gladstone told him that he would die either of {I forget} or some terrible
disease, Disraeli replied,

" That depends on whether I embrace your principles or your mistress".


The quotation only has its full value if you do recall the exact wording:

"You, sir, will either hang or die of the pox"
(i.e. be executed or die of siphylis)

Only then does the principles/mistress choice make sense.

When asked by Kaiser Wilhelm, what the million man Swiss Army will do if they were attacked by a two million man German Army, a Swiss soldier replied...

"Shoot twice and go home".

I found this during a discussion on these very forums, though I don't remember who exactly posted it first.

"Vinashakale Vipareetha Buddhi"
A Sanskrit quote, similar to the Greek quote which means, "Whoever the gods want to destroy, they first make mad"

It was an American soldier (cant remember which war indpendence or civil) that said the infamous last words of

'They cant even hit an elephant at thios dist......'

He was found dead a few minutes later.

Oh and ym favourite would have to come from a prophet of our times ;), Bob Marley.

'If everyone smoked the leaf, then there would be so much happiness and no war'

After this I think he proceeded to smoke some more (maybe) and then went on about how America should remove itself from Vietnam. (this guy was a genius there, where is he now in concern to Iraq?)

"The reason the American Army does so well in wartime, is that war is chaos, and the American Army practices it on a daily basis." :lol:

From a post-war debriefing of a German General

"Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value."
Marshal Ferdinand Foch

Interesting to think this guy was made supreme commander of allied forces in 1918 :crazyeye:

Army: A body of men assembled to rectify the mistakes of the diplomats.

Josephus Daniels

"We are going to find a solution to the Middle East conflict as soon as the Arabs agrees with us.."

Moshe Dyan on the 6 day war

"The Ruhr will not be a subject to a single bomb. If an enemy bomber reaches the Ruhr,
my name is not Herman Goering; you can call me Meier!"

Goering :D

Sheep, you're thinking of John Sedgewick from the civil war :)

"Messieurs, en selle, direction mes fesses" (Sir, up your saddles, toward : my ass).

Murat when ordering a charge, and then he lead the charge from the front.


"You French fight for only gold, we the British we fight for honor"
"A man always fight the best for what he lacks the most". Surcouf to an English ambassador (?) at a diner.

Methinks Murat's words loose a lot in the translation :lol:

Indeed, but unfortunately not everybody speak French, this wonderful language, so we are condamned to use English and do with all the limitation that go with it ;)

The quotation only has its full value if you do recall the exact wording:

"You, sir, will either hang or die of the pox"
(i.e. be executed or die of siphylis)

Only then does the principles/mistress choice make sense.

Thanx. Figured someone would know the full context.

Indeed, but unfortunately not everybody speak French, this wonderful language, so we are condamned to use English and do with all the limitation that go with it ;)

Bah, we took it and improved on it, jealousy gets you nowhere :smug:

Bah, we took it and improved on it, jealousy gets you nowhere :smug:

Then WE really fixed it right :crazyeye: :mischief: !!!

:lol: Who was it who said America and Britain are two countries divided by a common language? :D

:lol: Who was it who said America and Britain are two countries divided by a common language? :D

Oscar Wilde:
We really have everything in common with America nowadays, except, of course, the language.

[QUOTE=Steph]"Messieurs, en selle, direction mes fesses" (Sir, up your saddles, toward : my ass).
Or possibly in a freer translation:
"Gentlemen, saddle up, and follow my ass!"

Saves a bit of the succinct brevity of Murat's original phrase methinks. :D

"First God, then the king" - (first saint then sir :) )Thomas More

"Step a little out of the sun."
Diogenes to Alexander who granted to fulfill any wish the philosopher asks.

(Alexander afterwards to his companions: "Really, If I weren't Alexander, I'd want to be Diogenes.")

:lol: Who was it who said America and Britain are two countries divided by a common language? :D

Patton paraphrased it ;) .

See my sig. ;)

Patton paraphrased it ;) .

Patton would :p

Or another one would be the top quote of my sig (although the other ones aren't quite citations).

It was said by Norris in a speech against the entry of the US into WWI. And I think what he said came true...

mitsho

"Go and destroy that city. When we reach the next, the inhabitens will be so terrefied that they will surrender" Attila the Hun, around 440 AD

Since I'm reading Sima Guang's seminal history of the decline and fall of Han right now, here are some quotes I like from that:

"When Fan Pang came to the prison, the warder said, "All the prisoners here give a sacrifice to Gaoyao." Fan Pang said, "Gaoyao was a loyal minister in ancient times. If he knows that I am innocent, he will explain things properly to the emperor [of Heaven]. If I should be guilty of something, then what is the point of making a sacrifice?" Because of this, the other prisoners also ceased to offer sacrifice."

This was during the proscription era during late Han where many noble and talented men were jailed or executed and their families (up to 5 degrees of separation) were either executed or banned from office. Gaoyao was said to have been the Minister of Crime ( zuoshi) in the government of Emperor Shun.

"My real concern, however, is that we may be controlling the waters, but we are doing nothing about the source, and the spread of the flood may yet do more damage."

The official Fu Xie in a memorial to the emperor about the religious fanatics known as the Yellow Scarves. He is saying that while the government spends all its efforts attacking the group the poverty and oppression which fuels the Yellow Scarves rise is not being addressed.

"Someone suggested to the government, "The people are in distress and difficulty because the currency is considered to be of inferior value, and the coinage is short weight. The mint should issue larger coins."...Liu Tao, a scholar of the University, spoke as follows: "The misfortunes of the present time are not a problem caused by the currency. It is a question of the people starving...Even if you could transform gravel and sand into metals from the south, or change tiles and stones into pieces of jade like those of Bian He, the common people would still be thirsty because they would have nothing to drink, and they would still be hungry because they would have nothing to eat...Those who have discussed this question have been talking a great deal about the advantages of some coinage policy, but they have failed to deal with the basic problems of agriculture.""

"Shuxiang had the saying, "When a state is about to perish, there will be many new enactments in it." The administration of an enlightened ruler will make careful selection of loyal worthy men and will then employ them; whether they serve in the court or outside, if they do well then they are rewarded and if they have faults then they are punished. There is no opportunity for private interest, the laws are maintained without vexation, and the whole world receives the most excellent government. What is the reason for this? It comes from attention to essentials. At a time of weakness, when officials are appointed there is no competent selection carried out, but instead there are more and more restrictive regulations and increasingly detailed prohibitions and precautions. When a man does well, he fails to receive his proper reward on account of some technicality, and when another man does evil, he escapes his due punishment through some legal trickery. High and low, all are exhausted and troubled, and the whole world is in utter disorder. What is the reason for this? It comes from chasing after inessentials...During the reign of Emperor Ling the Inspectors of provinces and the Grand Administrators and Chancellors of commanderies and kingdoms were greedy as jackals and tigers, and they oppressed the people in the most cruel and ruthless fashion. And yet that was the time the court maintained the Law of Three Relationships. If you look upon it now it is surely enough to make one laugh. Thinking more deeply, however, it is a warning for us all."

Sima Guang (who was a very famous Prime Minister BTW so he's not an ivory tower academic) - the first saying he refers to is just before the fall of Zheng in desperation they carved the laws on a bronze tripod to try to maintain order. Basically he is saying that in a good government the heads maintain strict order and competent selection and good work. If the government is corrupt and the heads are incompetent laying on more and more strict regulation and laws is trying to paper over the symptoms of the disease rather than the heart. And as he points out the bad officials inevitably find ways around them anyway and it is only the good officials who get trapped. This theme continues when he talks about when the works on Confucius were carved onto stone. However the reason why this was done was because scholars were trying to bribe the official librarians into changing the official documents to match their POVs. That is carving laws onto stone (or onto bronze tripods) and over-regulation are a sign of moral bankuptcy in society as a whole and is an act of desperation.

"Yi Yin and Huo Guang both acted honestly and with complete loyalty, they held position as chief ministers and so held the power of the government, and they were in agreement with the wishes of the people. For these reasons they were able to calculate their following and carry out the enthronement. Now you are looking only at the easy points of the past and you do not recognise the difficulties of the present. So you plan to do something out of the ordinary and you are confident that it will succeed. Isn't that dangerous?"

Cao Cao I think to Yuang Shao.

"If a man does not fear death, you cannot awe him with punishments, and if a man does not love his life, you cannot encourage him with good treatment. For this reason man who holds high position must first increase his people's property in order to settle their ambitions; this is called 'nourishing life'."

Liu Wangzhi's younger brother Yi said to him, "When Zhao [Jianzi] killed [Dou] Mingdu, Zhongni [Confucius] turned away. You can take Hui of Liuxia as a model: stay at court and maintain your virtue regardless of others' wickedness; or you can follow the example of Fan Li: go away and change your occupation. Just sitting there disapproving is no use at all."

I can't believe nobody mention this

"Let them eat cake" - Marie Antoinette

It is ironic, funny and sad.

That's simply because Marie Antoninette did NOT say that.

The phrase was mentioned to be uttered by 'a great princess' in a book entitled 'Confessions' when told by peasants that they had no bread.

BUT

This book was written in 1767, 3 years BEFORE Marie Antoinette came to France. When it was published in the final years of her reign, the phrase got mislinked to the wrong person.

Source: Reader's Digest: Truth of History (ISBN: 0-276-42751-3)

There's a quote I like but I don't recall the name of the man who said it. I think he was a Novatianist bishop of Antioch in the fourth century. The Novatianists were a schismatic sect that had their own church structure independent of the Catholics, and did not accept the Catholic church as a legitimate church, even though it was vastly bigger. They were later re-incorporated into the church. So until then, there was a Novatianist bishop and a Catholic one of the same city. A Catholic asked this Novatianist bishop if he was sad at the fact that there were two bishops of Antioch. He replied: "There aren't."

..........

"May the Devil take you and your school!"

Uttered at age 15 by the young nobleman Gustaf Eriksson Wasa. These words were directed at his schoolmaster at the Cathedral School in Uppsala, Sweden. Young Gustaf was being pestered with questions about Latin grammar, not his best subject. As he wented his frustration verbally, he also drove his dagger into his grammar book, after which he stormed put of the classroom.

This incident effectivle ended his formal education. And naturally this young barbarian, would go on to become king of Sweden (1523-1560), founder of his dynasty, the first renaissance king of Sweden, and the first king to make Sweden a modern nation state, breaking it out of the Nordic Union.

Later in life he was once petitioned by the burghers of a trading town, intent on making the king confirm their medieval prvileges as such. Gustaf's reaction was in character:

"I would not give a rotten blueberry for you, or all your papers!"

This is the king who once told people that the only use he could find for a book was to ram it down the barrel of a cannon to keep the powder and shot in place.

Of course, his three sons were given the best education money could buy for a renaissance prince.

Reminds me of some of Zhuge Liang's quotes. A Wu scholar accused him:

"Zhuge Liang's words are overbearing, and he distorts reason. It is not proper argument, and he had better say no more. But I would ask him what classical canon he studied."

and

"You are mightily fond of big words, Sir, but they do not give any proof of your scholarship after all. I am inclined to think that a real scholar would just laugh at you."

He replied:

"The dryasdusts of every age select passages and choose phrases. What else are they good for? Do they ever initiate a policy or manage an affair? Yi Yin, who was a farmer in the state of Shen, and Lu Wang, the fisherman of the River Wei, Zhang Liang and Chen Ping, Zheng Yu and Geng Yan*---all were men of transcendent ability, but I have never inquired what classical canon they followed or on whose essays they formed their style. Would you liken them to your rusty students of books, whose journeyings are comprised between their brush and their inkstone, who spend their days in literary futilities, wasting both time and ink?"

"There is the noble scholar, loyal and patriotic, of perfect rectitude and a hater of any crookedness. The concern of such a scholar is to act in full sympathy with his day and leave to future ages a fine reputation. There is the scholar of the mean type, a pedant and nothing more. He labors constantly with his pen, in his callow youth composing odes and in hoary age still striving to understand the classical books completely. Thousands of words flow from his pen, but there is not a solid idea in his breast. He may, as did Yang Xiong, glorify the age with his writings and yet stoop to serve a tyrant such as Wang Mang. No wonder Yang Xiong threw himself out of a window; he had to. That is the way of the scholar of mean type. Though he composes odes by the hundred, what is the use of him?"

OTOH, This comes from Romance and not SGZ...Zhuge Liang's dispute with the Southern Scholars may not have happened this way...Oh well, still. I like the quotes anyway :)

"May the Devil take you and your school!"

Uttered at age 15 by the young nobleman Gustaf Eriksson Wasa. These words were directed at his schoolmaster at the Cathedral School in Uppsala, Sweden. Young Gustaf was being pestered with questions about Latin grammar, not his best subject. As he wented his frustration verbally, he also drove his dagger into his grammar book, after which he stormed put of the classroom.

This incident effectivle ended his formal education. And naturally this young barbarian, would go on to become king of Sweden (1523-1560), founder of his dynasty, the first renaissance king of Sweden, and the first king to make Sweden a modern nation state, breaking it out of the Nordic Union.

Later in life he was once petitioned by the burghers of a trading town, intent on making the king confirm their medieval prvileges as such. Gustaf's reaction was in character:

"I would not give a rotten blueberry for you, or all your papers!"

This is the king who once told people that the only use he could find for a book was to ram it down the barrel of a cannon to keep the powder and shot in place.

Of course, his three sons were given the best education money could buy for a renaissance prince.

"what the devil are you doing here???"

arab merchants on the docks, to Vasco de Gama when he first arrived in India...

Times are bad. Children no longer obey their parents, and everyone is writing a book.

Marcus Tullius Cicero, 106-43 BC

"Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value."
Marshal Ferdinand Foch


And under the same category:

This "telephone" has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.

-Western Union internal memo, 1876

'I can't believe its not Butter!'

This is indeed a quote for the ages!

The sermon held by Genghis Khan at the mosque of Bukhara in 1219 is one of my favorites. Unfortunatly I can't remember it exactly, and paraphrsed it looks stupid, if anyone out there knows of it, or can find it (I'm looking, but alas, no paper trail). Besides that:

"When the pin is pulled, Mr Grenade is not our friend."
US Marine Corps.

:)

found it

"O people, know that you have commited great sins and that the great ones among you have commited these sins. If you ask me what proof I have for these words, I say it is because I am the punishment of God. If you had not commited great sins, God would not have sent a punishment like me upon you." - Genghis Khan to the survivors of his sack of Bukhara, 1219

I like the grenade one better :cool: :lol: .

"No bigger lies are told before elections, in war and after huntings."

Otto von Bismarck

Sadly true.

Adler

"I know what I am fit for. I can command a body of men in a rough way; but I am not fit to be President." - Andrew Jackson in 1821, about 7 yrs. before he became 7th President of U.S.

I have a bunch. Here are two on the subject of the truth:

"A lie told often enough becomes the truth." -Vladimir Lenin

"The great masses of the people will more easily fall to a great lie than a small one." -Adolf Hitler

For war:

"The quickest way to end a war is to lose it." -George Orwell

"Politics is war without bloodshed while war is politics with bloodshed." -Mao Tse-Tung

"The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard as you can, and keep moving." -Ulysses Grant

The first about war may be my favorite.

U.S. General Scharzkopf during Desert Storm

"'I believe that forgiving them is God's function. Our job is simply to arrange the meeting'"

'I can't believe its not Butter!'

This is indeed a quote for the ages!

It's been picked up by the makers of methadone. "I can't believe it's not heroin!"

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."
-Benjamin Franklin
"In the beginning, the universe was created. This has made a lot of people very unhappy and has been widely regarded as a bad move."
-Douglas Adams

"George W. Bush will live to be one of the greatest presidents that ever served our country"
Theo Tran from Allentown, Pa United States


Roflol. :D

Mr. Tran seems to be one of these roughly 59 million US citizens who lost at least temporary their conscience when voting Bush II.

Adler

"Peace!? This isn't peace! This is a truce for 20 years!"

-grand marshal Foch at the signing of the peace treaty 1919

"Ask me for anything but time"
-Napoleon

"I'd rather die on my feet than live my life on my knees"
-I can't remember

"Men don't win wars by dying for their countries, they win wars by making the other poor dumb bastard die for theirs"
- Old blood and guts (Patton)

"I get there fastest with the mostest"
- Patton again.......... i think

"Good, my men would rather fight in the shade" :lol:
- Leonidas

he has plenty of men but no soldiers
-leonides

speak softly and carry a big stick
-Teddy Roosevelt

"Rommel you magnificant bastard, I read your book"
- Patton
(Or as in Art of war "know your enemy")

"Sometimes peace can only be found on the other side of war"
- McArthur

"When you ride alone, you ride with Binladden"

For those wishing to find the perfect christmas or chrismakwanzaadonakkah :rolleyes: diet:

Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint.
- Mark Twain

"Good, my men would rather fight in the shade" :lol:
- Leonidas
Nah, that was actually some other Spartan, known for making up good oneliners. (Got to check my Herodotus to get his name.)

Other Spartan, "laconic", stuff:

After 25+ years of war during which Athens had wiped out more than one Greek town the Spartans were about to move intoi a defeated Athens. The day of reckoning was at hand. The Spartan commander Lysander could have done what the Athenians would have done, i.e. raze the city, kill all males and sell the women and children as slaves. Considering what was at stake the Spartan brevity is striking. Lysander sent the following message:

"Lysander to the Elders of Sparta:
Athens has been taken."

The reply was:

"The Elders of Sparta to Lysander:
That will be enough."

Others include the story of the streets artist swallowing swords in the streets of Athens. He swallowed swords from Athens, Boiotia, Persia, you name it. The show ended with him swallowing a Spartan sword, hilt and all, since it was considerably shorter than the others.
The crowd laughed, at which point a Spartan in the audience commented:

"If you go close enough, it's long enough."

"Death is lighter than a feather; duty, heavy as a mountain."
true... so true.
I also thought "nuts" was a funny one, by that American dude durring the battle of the buldge

The only thing that ever really frightened me during the war was the U-boat
peril... the U-boat attack was our worst evil. It would have been wise for the
Germans to stake all upon it. Winston Churchill

I remember one just now, a rather good one, too, by the Prince/King/Sultan of Mysore (small state in southern India, which was one of the last there to resist British occupation very fiercely):

"It is better to live two days as a tiger than 200 years as a sheep."

of course, it might be paraphrased, but oh well. ;)

The Tippoo of Mysore? A very brave man by all accounts.

Another U-boat one: :cool:

'I will show that the U-boat alone can win the war... nothing is impossible to
us!' :rolleyes: Admiral Karl Doenitz

'Germany will win the war as sure as the sun revolves around the moon'

German propoganda newspaper in the occupation of the Jersey Islands.

dgfred, Dönitz was nearly right.

Adler

" We had to choose between two brutal dictators, we prefer the one that can speak russian " During the Great patriotic war.

dgfred, Dönitz was nearly right.

Adler


I agree! ;) . Look back at my earlier post of Churchill. The allies did make
great advances in sub (u-boat) warfare very quickly, but the losses were
indeed staggering! :eek: . I have always wondered how those guys could
mentally stand being underwater with depth charges, cramped conditions,
poor air quality and all the other rigors of U-boat/ Sub warfare without going
out of their minds :crazyeye: - Is it bravery, craziness or what? :scan:

"If the present Congress errs in too much talking, how can it be otherwise in a body to which the people send one hundred and fifty lawyers, whose trade it is to question everything, yield nothing, and talk by the hour?" - Thomas Jefferson

And "I just got there first with the most men" was General Nathan Bedford Forrest in the US Civil War.

Quote from a speech made by Mr.T

"First name MR, middle name PERIOD, last name... T!"

Another U-boat one: :cool:

'I will show that the U-boat alone can win the war... nothing is impossible to
us!' :rolleyes: Admiral Karl Doenitz

He would have been right had he had U-boats!

He would have been right had he had U-boats!

Do you mean more U-boats? :confused: :scan:

"Paska reissu, mutta tulipahan tehtyä."
Unknown finnish soldier after the Winter War.


By the way for those who don't know what it means, ( ;) ) it means:
"****ty trip, but we did it!"
or something like that.

:lol: actually many people said that in the finnish army and that saying came after the Lappland war .(Lapin sota)

Do you mean more U-boats? :confused: :scan:

Yeah, I think by '45 there were maybe 6 U-boats deplyed in the atlantic.

Yeah, I think by '45 there were maybe 6 U-boats deplyed in the atlantic.


I got ya ;) . The book I'm reading now 'Torpedo Junction' states that in 1942
when the U-boats did so much killing off the coast of NC--- there were
ONLY 6 U-boats doing the damage. :eek: Six more were supposed to go and
reap the dividends but were diverted to a suspected British 'invasion' around
the Norway front :rolleyes: , that never materialized. Things may have been
much different with double the amount of U-boats, when only 6 sunk so many
ships by themselves :scan: .

"Maricón el último"

Admiral Federico Gravina.

"Never Forget"

(Holocaust)

What about most pathetic quote?

"Ich bin ein Berliner." - Reagan

that was JFK

What about most pathetic quote?

"Ich bin ein Berliner." - Reagan


yes it was kennedy and no it wasnt pathetic,,, it was a GREAT part of the speech.. specially at the time, when a city and the world were divided by a wall. kennedy went to assure the ppl on the other side that " good" hasnt given up on them, keep fighting against the " evil" communist. That and to send a message to the russians.... were still here.. and my look how weve gotten stronger.

very important part of the cold war it was

here is a link to the whole speech in case u havent read it.
or maybey need to re read it.
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/jfkichbineinberliner.html

and well as far as a quote goes..

" whats up doc?"
i love that one

I love that link to www.americanrethoric, thanks a lot.

I also agree that the speech was great :)

I got ya ;) . The book I'm reading now 'Torpedo Junction' states that in 1942
when the U-boats did so much killing off the coast of NC--- there were
ONLY 6 U-boats doing the damage. :eek: Six more were supposed to go and
reap the dividends but were diverted to a suspected British 'invasion' around
the Norway front :rolleyes: , that never materialized. Things may have been
much different with double the amount of U-boats, when only 6 sunk so many
ships by themselves :scan: .

When the Americans first entered the war (and for that matter the British as well, but I think it was mostly the Americans), htey were so unexperienced in anti-submarine tactics, the German U-boats has what they clalled their "happy time" in the "Great [American] turkey shoot".
Also, Das Boot, the film is very poignant after two U-boats cross each other, and it turns out to be and old friend of the commander, and after exchanging brief Aldis signals, the commander goes into a fury and shout at his crew something like "We have six boats in the whole Atlantic, and here two almost collide!"

When the Americans first entered the war (and for that matter the British as well, but I think it was mostly the Americans), htey were so unexperienced in anti-submarine tactics, the German U-boats has what they clalled their "happy time" in the "Great [American] turkey shoot".
Also, Das Boot, the film is very poignant after two U-boats cross each other, and it turns out to be and old friend of the commander, and after exchanging brief Aldis signals, the commander goes into a fury and shout at his crew something like "We have six boats in the whole Atlantic, and here two almost collide!"


Yes, Off N.C. coast there were only a couple of Coastguard ships for anti-sub
warfare, most were makeshift private boats and even some private airplanes.
:crazyeye: That same book I'm reading says only 7 U-boats were destroyed
during the time frame in '42 that 259 allied ships were sunk in the area. :eek:

The operation Paukenschlag. It was a big victory for the German Uboats. The defense measures were loughable at best mostly. Ships had to drive without lights in the night but were detected due to the light of the cities. German Uboats were very near to the coast and cities. There are rumors about German navy soldiers on a special holiday in NY or other cities in that time. It is not proven though. But it is not impossible. ;)

Adler

"Paska reissu, mutta tulipahan tehtyä."
Unknown finnish soldier after the Winter War.


By the way for those who don't know what it means, ( ;) ) it means:
"****ty trip, but we did it!"
or something like that.
I've always liked the traditional Finnish battle cry: "Hakka pällän!" (sp?)
It earned the Finnish troops in the 30 years war the name of "hakkapellites".
If I've understood this correctly it literally means "Bash head!" :D

It ranks up there with what is claimed to be the battle cry on the Normans (the ones form Normandy) in the first crusade (capturing Jerusalem in 1099): "Tyr hialp!" I.e. "With the help of Tyr!"

Tyr being the one-handed Norse god of war. The Normans spoke french, but had inherited the cry from dad and gran'dad, and it always was good enough for them, so why change it? :lol:

I know a bunch of historical quotes, but one that I think is funny is Hitler calling Churchill "the most bloodthirsty amateur strategist the world has ever known" in 1941.

I'm not sure if it qualifies, but my favourite is the sequence of the cover titles of the newspaper Le Moniteur from the 9th to the 22nd March 1815, as Napoleon abandons his first exile and reaches Paris:
"The anthropophag has escaped from his hideout."
"The ogre of Corsica has landed on the gulf Juan."
"The tiger arrived at Gap. The troops advance from every corner to stop him. His miserable adventure will end there, as a vagabond in the mountains."
"The monster slept in Grenoble."
"The tyrant went through Lyon. Everyone was terrified when his presence was known."
"The usurper was seen at a distance of 60 leagues from Paris."
"Bonaparte advances in great pace, but he will never enter Paris."
"Napoleon will be in the city ramparts tomorrow."
"The Emperor arrived at Fontainebleu."
"His Imperial Majesty entered yesterday in the Tuileries Castle, among his faithful subjects."

LOL! what a change in attitude :p

I'm not sure if it qualifies, but my favourite is the sequence of the cover titles of the newspaper Le Moniteur from the 9th to the 22nd March 1815, as Napoleon abandons his first exile and reaches Paris:

Talking of quotes about Napoleon, another I heard (though I doubt it's entirely true given it's nature) went:

After his ill-fated invasion of Russia in 1812, Napoleon, alarmed by unrest at home, left his army in the lurch and rushed back virtually unaccompanied. He shortly arrived at the river Neman, inquiring of the Russian ferryman if many deserters had passed that way. "No," the man replied, "you are the first."

Real or not, it's still damned funny :lol:

The operation Paukenschlag. It was a big victory for the German Uboats. The defense measures were loughable at best mostly. Ships had to drive without lights in the night but were detected due to the light of the cities. German Uboats were very near to the coast and cities. There are rumors about German navy soldiers on a special holiday in NY or other cities in that time. It is not proven though. But it is not impossible. ;)

Adler


I wouldn't doubt it about the 'holiday', being many sailors spoke such excellent English :eek: . The really bad part is for almost the entire operation
the lights were 'on' in the ships too!?! :rolleyes: Also many bueys and Light-
house & lighthouse ships kept their lights on too! :cry:

Well the US counter measures were so bad, that I think that German sailors could have made a holiday as Dutch. I mean in the big cities with many ships going in and out it was possible.
Nevertheless the ships had to be darkened at night but not the land sites, IIRC. So it was useless indeed.

Adler

They did a fair few things they shouldn't have and wouldn't have had they listened to their allies a bit more.

Another one:
"Quidquid id est, prudente agas, et respice finem."
"Whatever happens, act wisely and reach your aim." - someone Roman poet

What I think is so 'funny' about that quote is that what it says is just logical: there's no need for it being written down.

Well, it's actually not a 'historical quote', but why not diversity in this thread. :)

mfG mitsho

This is my favorite:

"The die is cast"-Julius Caesar. With these immortals words Julius Caesar declared war, in 49 B.C., against the aristocrats and senators of Rome that had oppressed the republic and ruled it for over a century.

It lasted for four years but this quote is my number one i just love saying it out loud.

Do you say it in English or in Latin (Alea iacta est - or something similar ;))?

I'm not sure if it qualifies, but my favourite is the sequence of the cover titles of the newspaper Le Moniteur from the 9th to the 22nd March 1815, as Napoleon abandons his first exile and reaches Paris:
"The anthropophag has escaped from his hideout."
"The ogre of Corsica has landed on the gulf Juan."
"The tiger arrived at Gap. The troops advance from every corner to stop him. His miserable adventure will end there, as a vagabond in the mountains."
"The monster slept in Grenoble."
"The tyrant went through Lyon. Everyone was terrified when his presence was known."
"The usurper was seen at a distance of 60 leagues from Paris."
"Bonaparte advances in great pace, but he will never enter Paris."
"Napoleon will be in the city ramparts tomorrow."
"The Emperor arrived at Fontainebleu."
"His Imperial Majesty entered yesterday in the Tuileries Castle, among his faithful subjects."
Those are hillarious! Even if one has heard them before.:lol:

It could only be improved by marshall Ney, who given the task of capturing Napoleon, accpeted with the promise: "I will bring him back in a cage". And as soon as they met Ney again became Napoleon's loyal follower.

What a shame the King didn't send Rapp instead :mischief:

that was JFK
ooops, sorry. Indeed it was JFK. I confused it with "Mr. Gorbachov, tear down this wall."
still, the Berliner was pathetic to me. I always lol when see some officials learning a word or two in other language and then blurt it in the form of some cheesy quote.

Do you say it in English or in Latin (Alea iacta est - or something similar ;))?

I say it in English because i don't know latin ;)

never read Asterix, he? :)

If you're out of fuel, you become a pillbox;
If you're out of ammo, you become a bunker;
If you're out of time, you become heroes.
- A Russian tank crewman's saying.

This one too, with a story behind it:

At 5.10 am on June 7, 1917, 19 mines were detonated by the British to launch the Battle of Messines. The average mine contained 21 tons of explosive and the largest, 125 feet beneath St. Eloi, was twice the average at 42 tons. The combined force of the explosions was supposedly felt in England. As the Chief of Staff of the British Second Army, General Sir Charles Harrington, commented on the eve of the battle:
I do not know whether we shall change history tomorrow, but we shall certainly alter the geography.

What about most pathetic quote?

"Ich bin ein Berliner." - Reagan

Actually, as far as I know, "Ich bin ein berliner" actually means "I am a berliner" (berliner being a type of pastry).

Any Germans who can verify?

yes u are correct.. more exact... a donut. but in the sense of the speech it was like and englishcized... im a berliner, or a londoner,,, new yorker...that kinda thing.

I think he would not have said that in Hamburg...

Adler

If you're out of fuel, you become a pillbox;
If you're out of ammo, you become a bunker;
If you're out of time, you become heroes.
- A Russian tank crewman's saying.


Sounds very much like the standing orders the tank commander from The Beast quotes too. just before he gives his other two crewmen hand grenades, and right afterwards he pulls the pin on his. His version sounds more like it's consecutive though, ie you never give up the tank no matter what, you fight onwards.

yes and no. 'Berliner' are a pastry, and a very good one :) but it's also the name for the inhabitants of Berlin. And I really think Kennedy meant the latter.

mfG mitsho

Mitsho, why are you so sure ;) . Oh by the way indeed it is a good pastry.

Adler

I think he would not have said that in Hamburg...

Adler


no that would be dubya...lol... and i voted for dubya!!!

Cidknee, have you lost your conscience!?! Why him? Dubya is. No I will not make threadjacking here.

Adler

I forgot who said it:

"I would rather fight a herd of sheep led by a lion than a herd of lion led by a sheep."

"Falam,falam,falam,falam,falam,falam e não os vejo a fazer nada fico chateado conzerteza que fico chateado!"-Ricardo Araújo Pereira 2004
This is from a Portuguese comediant
Translation-They talk, talk,talk and I don't see them make anything I stay bored of course I stay bored

In a recent interview, General Norman Schwartzkopf was asked if he didn't think there was room for forgiveness toward the people who have harbored and abetted the terrorists who perpetrated the 9/11 attacks on America.

His answer was classic Schwartzkopf. He said, "I believe that forgiving them is God's function. Our job is simply to arrange the meeting."

"Quo usque tandem abutere, Catilina, patientia nostra"
Translating: Until when, Catilina, will you abuse our patience" (The grammar is probably wrong in the abuse part...) - Cicerus
And, of course, my signature:

It is unwise to move boldly without the Dauphin being made aware, as he may suspect a calculated insult or conspiracy against him, where there is none.
-unattributed

"Live! Life's a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!"-- Rosalind Russell in Auntie Mame