Quote #9
...only the element of chance is needed to make war a gamble, and that element is never absent.
Attribution disputed; shown as originally published.
More from Karl von Clausewitz
- Men are always more inclined to pitch their estimate of the enemy's strength too high than too low, such is human nature.
- ...in the whole range of human activities, war most closely resembles a game of cards.
- The worst of all conditions in which a belligerent can find himself is to be utterly defenseless.
- Although our intellect always longs for clarity and certainty, our nature often finds uncertainty fascinating.
- The invention of gunpowder and the constant improvement of firearms are enough in themselves to show that the advance of civilization has d…
- With uncertainty in one scale, courage and self-confidence should be thrown into the other to correct the balance. The greater they are, th…
- Kind-hearted people might of course think there was some ingenious way to disarm or defeat the enemy without too much bloodshed, and might …
- ...the side that feels the lesser urge for peace will naturally get the better bargain.