Frederick the Great Quotations

I begin by taking. I shall find scholars later to demonstrate my perfect right.

What is the good of experience if you do not reflect?

If my soldiers were to begin to think, not one of them would remain in the army.

A crown is merely a hat that lets the rain in.

Every man has a wild beast within him.

It seems to me that man is made to act rather than to know: the principles of things escape our most persevering researches.

The greatest and noblest pleasure which we have in this world is to discover new truths, and the next is to shake off old prejudices.

My people and I have come to an agreement which satisfied us both. They are to say what they please, and I am to do what I please.

Religion is the idol of the mob; it adores everything it does not understand.

Don't forget your great guns, which are the most respectable arguments of the rights of kings.

Books make up no small part of human happiness.

Do not neglect the principles of foresight and know that often, puffed up with success, armies have lost the fruit of their heroism through a feeling of false security.

Though I may not be a king in my future life, so much the better: I shall nevertheless live an active life and, on top of it, earn less ingratitude.

I think it better to keep a profound silence with regard to the Christian fables, which are canonized by their antiquity and the credulity of absurd and insipid people.

Artillery adds dignity, to what would otherwise be an ugly brawl.

I love opposition that has convictions.

Christianity - An old metaphysical romance, filled with marvels, contradictions, and absurdity, born in the ardent imagination of Orientals, has spread into our Europe. Enthusiasts have purveyed it, careerists have pretended to accept it, imbeciles have believed it.

Man is made for error; it enters his mind naturally, and he discovers a few truths only with the greatest effort.

It has been said by a certain general, that the first object in the establishment of an army ought to be making provision for the belly, that being the basis and foundation of all operations

N]either antiquity nor any other nation has imagined a more atrocious and blasphemous absurdity than that of eating God. This is how Christians treat the autocrat of the universe.

My people and I have come to an agreement which satisfies us both. They are to do what they please, and I am to do what I please.

A king is the first servant and first magistrate of the state.

It is impossible to imitate Voltaire without being Voltaire.

To your care and recommendation am I indebted for having replaced a half-blind mathematician with a mathematician with both eyes, which will especially please the anatomical members of my Academy.

A man with his heart in his profession imagines and finds resources where the worthless and lazy despair.

Pleasure is the most real good in this life.

In trying to defend everything he defended nothing.

It is the fashion these days to make war, and presumably it will last a while yet.

You will certainly grant me that neither antiquity nor whatever nation has devised a more repulsive and blasphemous absurdity than that of eating your God. This is the most disgusting dogma of Christian religion, the greatest insult to the Highest Being, the climax of madness and insanity.

Every man must get to Heaven his own way.

Many battles have been fought and won by soldiers nourished on beer.

One should never despair too soon.

A German singer! I should as soon expect to get pleasure from the neighing of my horse.

God is always with the strongest battalions.

Theologians are all alike, of whatever religion or country they may be; their aim is always to wield despotic authority over men's consciences; they therefore persecute all of us who have the temerity to tell the truth.

Euler calculated the force of the wheels necessary to raise the water in a reservoir ... My mill was carried out geometrically and could not raise a drop of water fifty yards from the reservoir. Vanity of vanities! Vanity of geometry!

As to your Newton, I confess I do not understand his void and his gravity; I admit he has demonstrated the movement of the heavenly bodies with more exactitude than his forerunners; but you will admit it is an absurdity to to maintain the existence of Nothing.

The people say what they like and then I do what I like

Diplomacy without arms is like a concert without a score

If I wished to punish a province, I would have it governed by philosophers.

It is pardonable to be defeated, but never to be surprised.

I have no fault to find with those who teach geometry. That science is the only one which has not produced sects; it is founded on analysis and on synthesis and on the calculus; it does not occupy itself with the probable truth; moreover it has the same method in every country.

No government can exist without taxation. The money must necessarily be levied on the people; and the grand art consists of levying so as not to oppress.

Always presume that the enemy has dangerous designs and always be forehanded with the remedy. But do not let these calculations make your timid.

It is disgusting to note the increase in the quantity of coffee used by my subjects and the amount of money that goes out of the country in consequence. Everybody is using coffee. If possible, this must be prevented. My people must drink beer.

Be more than you seem to be.

Great advantage is drawn from knowledge of your adversary, and when you know the measure of his intelligence and character, you can use it to play on his weakness.

It is disgusting to notice the increase in the quantity of coffee used by my subjects, and the amount of money that goes out of the country as a consequence. Everybody is using coffee; this must be prevented. His Majesty was brought up on beer, and so were both his ancestors and officers. Many battles have been fought and won by soldiers nourished on beer, and the King does not believe that coffee-drinking soldiers can be relied upon to endure hardships in case of another war.

Our work is to present things that are as they are.

Being goal directed is not enough to conquer your enemy. To achieve your goal you need to know and be able to utilize all the resources available to you. This includes the knowledge of all those available to you as well as using the physical resources and those who control them.

A man, who can, in cold blood, hunt and torture a poor, innocent animal, cannot feel much compassion for the distress of his own species.

An educated people can be easily governed.

I am up and about when I am ill, and in the most appalling weather. I am on horseback when other men would be flat out on their beds, complaining. We are made for action, and activity is the sovereign remedy for all physical ills.

My people must drink beer.

Many battles have been fought and won by soldiers nourished on beer, and the King does not believe that coffee-drinking soldiers can be relied upon to endure hardships in case of another war.

Diplomacy without military might is like music without instruments.

Christianity is an old metaphysical fiction, stuffed with fables, contradictions and absurdities: it was spawned in the fevered imagination of the Orientals, and then spread to our Europe, where some fanatics espoused it, where some intriguers pretended to be convinced by it and where some imbeciles actually believed it.

The more I see of men, the better I like my dog.

Great things are achieved only when we take great risks.

All religions must be tolerated ... every man must go to heaven in his own way. [Die Religionen müssen alle toleriert werden ... denn hier muss ein jeder nach seiner Fasson selig werden.]

Little minds try to defend everything at once, but sensible people look at the main point only; they parry the worst blows and stand a little hurt if thereby they avoid a greater one. If you try to hold everything, you hold nothing.