Quotes by Carl von Clausewitz with doubt

Carl von Clausewitz

Carl von Clausewitz

Prussian general and military theorist

Lived from: 1780 - 1831

Category: Politics | Scientists Country: FlagGermany

Born: 1 june 1780 Died: 16 november 1831

  • All action takes place, so to speak, in a kind of twilight, which like a fog or moonlight, often tends to make things seem grotesque and larger than they really are.
  • Although our intellect always longs for clarity and certainty, our nature often finds uncertainty fascinating.
  • Our discussion has shown that while in war many different roads can lead to the goal, to the attainment of the political object, fighting is the only possible means.
  • Two qualities are indispensable: first, an intellect that, even in the darkest hour, retains some glimmerings of the inner light which leads to truth; and second, the courage to follow this faint light wherever it may lead.
  • Where execution is dominant, as it is in the individual events of a war whether great or small, then intellectual factors are reduced to a minimum.
  • Beauty cannot be defined by abscissas and ordinates; neither are circles and ellipses created by their geometrical formulas.
  • In the whole range of human activities, war most closely resembles a game of cards.
  • As man under pressure tends to give in to physical and intellectual weakness, only great strength of will can lead to the objective.
  • Boldness will be at a disadvantage only in an encounter with deliberate caution, which may be considered bold in its own right, and is certainly just as powerful and effective; but such cases are rare.
  • Phillipsburg was the name of one those badly drawn fortresses resembling a fool with his nose too close to the wall.
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  • The role of determination is to limit the agonies of doubt and the perils of hesitation when the motives for action are inadequate.
    On War (1832)
    ― Carl von Clausewitz
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