Carl von Clausewitz
Carl von Clausewitz
Carl Philipp Gottfriedvon Clausewitz was a Prussian general and military theorist who stressed the "moral"and political aspects of war. His most notable work, Vom Kriege, was unfinished at his death. Clausewitz was a realist in many different senses and, while in some respects a romantic, also drew heavily on the rationalist ideas of the European Enlightenment...
NationalityGerman
ProfessionSoldier
Date of Birth1 June 1780
CountryGermany
powerful passion men
Of all the passions that inspire a man in a battle, none, we have to admit, is so powerful and so constant as the longing for honor and reknown.
special bows faults
Obstinacy is a fault of temperament. Stubbornness and intolerance of contradiction result from a special kind of egotism, which elevates above everything else the pleasure of its autonomous intellect, to which others must bow.
intelligent men people
Intelligence alone is not courage, we often see that the most intelligent people are irresolute. Since in the rush of events a man is governed by feelings rather than by thought, the intellect needs to arouse the quality of courage, which then supports and sustains it in action.
war games cards
In the whole range of human activities, war most closely resembles a game of cards.
war four-elements climate
Four elements make up the climate of war: danger, exertion, uncertainty and chance.
powerful may encounters
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.
circles formulas defined
Beauty cannot be defined by abscissas and ordinates; neither are circles and ellipses created by their geometrical formulas.
self pressure moments
Self-reliance is the best defence against the pressures of the moment.
powerful character feelings
Strength of character does not consist solely in having powerful feelings, but in maintaining one's balance in spite of them.
use produce absolutes
Where absolute superiority is not attainable, you must produce a relative one at the decisive point by making skillful use ofwhat you have.
capability
Knowledge must become capability.
moral force combat
Every combat is the bloody and destructive measuring of the strength of forces, physical and moral; whoever at the close has the greatest amount of both left is the conqueror.
war fog three
War is the realm of uncertainty; three quarters of the factors on which action is based are wrapped in a fog of greater or lesser uncertainty.
war intellectual execution
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.