Carl von Clausewitz

"War is not an exercise of the will directed at an inanimate matter."

"Everything in war is very simple. But the simplest thing is difficult."

"Although our intellect always longs for clarity and certainty, our nature often finds uncertainty fascinating."

"Courage, above all things, is the first quality of a warrior."

"Politics is the womb in which war develops."

"To secure peace is to prepare for war."

"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."

"War is not an independent phenomenon, but the continuation of politics by different means."

"War is the continuation of politics by other means."

"War is the domain of physical exertion and suffering."