Reported as frequently quoted but unverified in Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations (1989), which states, "it cannot be found in the official writings and pronouncements of Bismarck. It is possible that he said it, and it was passed on orally rather than being recorded, or that he expressed the sentiment in other terms and the idea took this form as others tried to quote him".
Disputed
“Russia was a slave in Europe but would be a master in Asia.”
Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821–1881) Russian author
As quoted in "Dilemmas of Empire 1850-1918: Power, Territory, Identity" by Dominic Livien in Journal of Contemporary History, Vol. 34, No.2 (April 1999), pp. 180
Friedrich Nietzsche book The Will to Power
Sec. 960 (Notebook W I 8. Fall 1885 - Fall 1886, KGW VIII, 1.85-6, KSA 12.87-8)
The Will to Power (1888)
“A Man who is Master of Patience, is Master of everything else.”
George Savile, 1st Marquess of Halifax (1633–1695) English politician
Political, Moral, and Miscellaneous Reflections (1750), Miscellaneous Thoughts and Reflections
“He who flies from his master is a runaway; but the law is master”
Marcus Aurelius book Meditations
X, 25
Meditations (c. 121–180 AD), Book X
Context: He who flies from his master is a runaway; but the law is master, and he who breaks the law is a runaway. And he also who is grieved or angry or afraid, is dissatisfied because something has been or is or shall be of the things which are appointed by Him who rules all things, and He is Law, and assigns to every man what is fit. He then who fears or is grieved or is angry is a runaway.
“Who mourns makes grief his master.
Who drinks makes pleasure his master.”
Bashō Matsuo (1644–1694) Japanese poet
Classical Japanese Database, Translation #41 http://carlsensei.com/classical/index.php/translation/view/41 of a Saga Diary excerpt (Translation: Robert Hass) <br class="br">Statements <br class="br">Context: It rains during the morning. No visitors today. I feel lonely and amuse myself by writing at random. These are the words:<br>Who mourns makes grief his master.<br>Who drinks makes pleasure his master.
Dan Simmons book Hyperion
Source: Hyperion (1989), Chapter 6 (p. 472)
“Master, master singer,
Master of words unspoken”
Khalil Gibran book Jesus, The Son of Man
A Man From Lebanon: Nineteen Centuries Afterward
Jesus, The Son of Man (1928)
Context: Master, master singer,
Master of words unspoken,
Seven times was I born, and seven times have I died
Since your last hasty visit and our brief welcome.
And behold I live again,
Remembering a day and a night among the hills,
When your tide lifted us up.
Daniel Webster (1782–1852) Leading American senator and statesman. January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852. Served as the Secretary of Sta…
A speech delivered at Niblo’s Saloon, in New York, on the 15 of March, 1837.<br>The Works of Daniel Webster, Boston, Charles C. Little and James Brown, 1851, vol. 1, p. 358 http://books.google.com/books?id=9DMOAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA358&lpg=PA358&dq=%22They+mean+to+govern+well%3B+but+they+mean+to+govern%22&source=bl&ots=oJ6IWDhF2B&sig=iYuDQMQjnHzxMjzbd6rJohrXVrQ&hl=en&ei=xqYqTKDpFML-nAeF2omjAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CCwQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=%22They%20mean%20to%20govern%20well%3B%20but%20they%20mean%20to%20govern%22&f=false. <br class="br">Context: There are men, in all ages, who mean to exercise power usefully; but who mean to exercise it. They mean to govern well; but they mean to govern. They promise to be kind masters; but they mean to be masters.
Richard Wagner (1813–1883) German composer, conductor
Quotes from his operas, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Hans Sachs, Act 2, Scene 4
Original: (de) Mein Kind, für den ist alles verloren,
und Meister wird der in keinem Land;
denn wer als Meister geboren,
der hat unter Meistern den schlimmsten Stand.
