“The fleet is necessary to show that Germany is as well born as Britain.”

—  Wilhelm II, German Emperor

The Growth of Nationalism (1992)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "The fleet is necessary to show that Germany is as well born as Britain." by Wilhelm II, German Emperor?
Wilhelm II, German Emperor photo
Wilhelm II, German Emperor 64
German Emperor and King of Prussia 1859–1941

Related quotes

Richard Rumelt photo

“In 1805, England had a problem. Napoléon had conquered big chunks of Europe and planned the invasion of England. But to cross the Channel, he needed to wrest control of the sea away from the English. Off the southwest coast of Spain, the French and Spanish combined fleet of thirty-three ships met the smaller British fleet of twenty-seven ships. The well-developed tactics of the day were for the two opposing fleets to each stay in line, firing broadsides at each other. But British admiral Lord Nelson had a strategic insight. He broke the British fleet into two columns and drove them at the Franco-Spanish fleet, hitting their line perpendicularly. The lead British ships took a great risk, but Nelson judged that the less-trained Franco-Spanish gunners would not be able to compensate for the heavy swell that day. At the end of the Battle of Trafalgar, the French and Spanish lost twenty-two ships, two-thirds of their fleet. The British lost none. Nelson was mortally wounded, becoming, in death, Britain’s greatest naval hero. Britain’s naval dominance was ensured and remained unsurpassed for a century and a half.”

Richard Rumelt (1942) American economist

Source: Good Strategy Bad Strategy, 2011, p. 1; Lead paragraph introduction

Diogenes Laërtius photo

“Aristippus being asked what were the most necessary things for well-born boys to learn, said, "Those things which they will put in practice when they become men."”

Diogenes Laërtius (180–240) biographer of ancient Greek philosophers

Aristippus, 4.
The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers (c. 200 A.D.), Book 2: Socrates, his predecessors and followers

“[Larkin] himself is well aware that there are happier ways of viewing life. It's just that he is incapable of sharing them, except for fleeting moments - and the fleeting moments do not accumulate, whereas the times in between them do.”

Clive James (1939–2019) Australian author, critic, broadcaster, poet, translator and memoirist

Ibid.
Essays and reviews, At the Pillars of Hercules (1979)

Thomas Moore photo

“This world is all a fleeting show,
For man's illusion given;
The smiles of joy, the tears of woe,
Deceitful shine, deceitful flow,—
There's nothing true but Heaven.”

Thomas Moore (1779–1852) Irish poet, singer and songwriter

This World is all a fleeting Show.
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919)

Pope Sixtus V photo

“Born of an illustrious (or well-lighted) house”

Pope Sixtus V (1520–1590) pope

A reference to Sixtus' poor upbringing in a house so poorly thatched that the sun shone through holes in the roof; reported in Will and Ariel Durant, Age of Reason Begins: Volume 7 (1961), p. 240.

George Carlin photo

“When you're born into this world, you're given a ticket to the freak show. If you're born in America you get a front row seat.”

George Carlin (1937–2008) American stand-up comedian

Archive of American Television http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/george-carlin, from one of Carlin's final interviews (2008)
Interviews, Television Appearances
Context: You know what, I said it this way: when you're born in this world, you're given a ticket to the freak show. And when you're born in America, you're given a front row seat. And some of us get to sit there with notebooks. And I'm a notebook kind of guy: [pretends to be taking notes] "Oh, my God, did you see that? Did you see what he just did?..." And I watch the freak show, and I kept my notes, and I make up stuff about it, and I talk about the freaks. And the freaks are all humans, and they are all like me, and we are all the same. I'm not better, I'm not different, I'm just apart now. I'm separate, I'm over here, because I put myself out of the mix. I don't have a stake at the outcome. I'm not a cheerleader for a given outcome now.

Randy Pausch photo

“We don't beat the reaper by living longer, but by living well, and living fully — for the reaper will come for all of us. The question is: what do we do between the time we're born and the time he shows up.”

Randy Pausch (1960–2008) American professor of computer science, human-computer interaction and design

CMU Graduation speech (2008)
Context: We don't beat the reaper by living longer, but by living well, and living fully — for the reaper will come for all of us. The question is: what do we do between the time we're born and the time he shows up. Because when he shows up, it’s too late to do all the things that you’re always gonna, kinda get around to.

Alfred von Waldersee photo

“England will soon show us her true face: It is a fight for existence between us. England wants to destroy Germany, her most serious rival in the world market, and, if not today or tomorrow, will do so soon, before the German fleet has been further strengthened. I do not believe that the matter will be taken so seriously in official circles with us. As in their way, the Liberal papers try to disguise the gravity of the situation; it is really too hard on them that their paragon, England, should want to break with free trade. A bitter revenge is now in store for those who have sought to turn Germany into an industrial country pure and simple.”

Alfred von Waldersee (1832–1904) Prussian Field Marshal

Waldersee in his diary, 19 February 1904, shortly before his death.

Otto von Bismarck photo

“Let us lift Germany, so to speak, into the saddle. Surely when that is achieved, it will succeed at riding as well.”

Otto von Bismarck (1815–1898) German statesman, Chancellor of Germany

Setzen wir Deutschland, so zu sagen, in den Sattel! Reiten wird es schon können.
Speech to Parliament of Confederation (1867)
1860s

Gjorge Ivanov photo

“In terms of humanity, Germany acted very well. But in terms of security, your country has completely failed”

Gjorge Ivanov (1960) President of Macedonia

On the refugee crisis, quoted on Ekathimerini, FYROM ‘paying for EU mistakes' in refugee crisis, says Ivanov http://www.ekathimerini.com/206888/article/ekathimerini/news/fyrom-paying-for-eu-mistakes-in-refugee-crisis-says-ivanov, March 11, 2016.
Context: In the refugee crisis there is the humanitarian aspect and the security aspect. In terms of humanity, Germany acted very well. But in terms of security, your country has completely failed. But no one has the courage to say what still lies ahead. Between Sudan and Egypt alone, 20 million migrants are waiting to come to Europe. The refugee flow won't end, because everyone knows everything via Twitter and Facebook.

Related topics