Joseph Stalin

Nobody respects a country with a poor army, but everybody respects a country with a good army. I raise my toast to the Finnish army

Ideas are far more powerful than guns. We don’t let our people have guns. Why should we let them have ideas?

The art of leadership is a serious matter. One must not lag behind a movement, because to do so is to become isolated from the masses. But one must not rush ahead, for to rush ahead is to lose contact with the masses. He who wished to lead a movement must conduct a fight on two fronts–against those who lag behind and those who rush ahead.

We are fifty or a hundred years behind the advanced countries. We must make good this distance in ten years. Either we do it, or they will crush us.

Voters decide nothing. Vote counters decide everything!

Writers are the engineers of human souls.

To be in time is to be asleep: to be awake is to be in eternity.

People of great position are servants times three, servants of their country, servants of fame, and servants of business.

Few women, I fear, have had such reason as I have to think the long sad years of youth were worth living for the sake of middle age.

The worst sin toward our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them: that’s the essence of inhumanity.

Mortals are easily tempted to pinch the life out of their neighbour’s buzzing glory, and think that such killing is no murder.

Fate is nothing but the deeds committed in a prior state of existence.

Do not waste your time on Social Questions. What is the matter with the poor is Poverty; what is the matter with the rich is Uselessness.

From the deepest desires often come the deadliest hate.

A man should be just cultured enough to be able to look with suspicion upon culture at first, not second hand.

There is no prosperity, trade, art, city, or great material wealth of any kind, but if you trace it home, you will find it rooted in a thought of some individual man.

Knowledge exists to be imparted.

Of all virtues and dignities of the mind, goodness is the greatest, being the character of the Deity; and without it, man is a busy, mischievous, wretched thing.

Death is the king of this world: ‘Tis his park where he breeds life to feed him. Cries of pain are music for his banquet.

He is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature.

A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer.