Sir Henry at Rawlinson End (1978)
Alone in the Wilderness Part 2 DVD, Bob Swerer Productions
Commenting to media on an advertisement from a automobile manufacturer
“Laws, like sausages, cease to inspire respect in proportion as we know how they are made.”
As quoted in University Chronicle. University of Michigan (27 March 1869) books.google.de http://books.google.de/books?id=cEHiAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA164, Daily Cleveland Herald (29 March 1869), McKean Miner (22 April 1869), and "Quote... Misquote" http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/21/magazine/27wwwl-guestsafire-t.html by Fred R. Shapiro in The New York Times (21 July 2008); similar remarks have long been attributed to Otto von Bismarck, but this is the earliest known quote regarding laws and sausages, and according to Shapiro's research, such remarks only began to be attributed to Bismarck in the 1930s.
“Laws, like sausages, cease to inspire respect in proportion as we know how they are made”
Gesetze sind wie Würste, man sollte besser nicht dabei sein, wenn sie gemacht werden
Though similar remarks are often attributed to Bismarck, this is the earliest known quote regarding laws and sausages, and is attributed to John Godfrey Saxe University Chronicle. University of Michigan (27 March 1869) books.google http://books.google.de/books?id=cEHiAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA164 and "Quote... Misquote" http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/21/magazine/27wwwl-guestsafire-t.html by Fred R. Shapiro in The New York Times (21 July 2008); according to Shapiro's research, such remarks only began to be attributed to Bismarck in the 1930s.
Variants often attributed to Bismarck:
If you like laws and sausages, you should never watch either one being made.
Laws are like sausages — it is best not to see them being made.
Laws are like sausages. It is better not to see them being made.
Laws are like sausages. You should never see them made.
Laws are like sausages. You should never watch them being made.
Law and sausage are two things you do not want to see being made.
No one should see how laws or sausages are made.
To retain respect for sausages and laws, one must not watch them in the making.
The making of laws like the making of sausages, is not a pretty sight.
Je weniger die Leute darüber wissen, wie Würste und Gesetze gemacht werden, desto besser schlafen sie nachts.
The less the people know about how sausages and laws are made, the better they sleep in the night.
No citation exists for where this German phrase or this translation originated.
Misattributed
Who knows?, The Guardian, October 26, 2004, 2007-02-09 http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1335837,00.html, (Alluding to a famous quote "Laws are like sausages — it is better not to see them being made.", generally attributed to Otto von Bismarck.)
“The fact that Marc Cherry's a gay Republican means he should join the Democratic Party.”
Meet the Press (28 November 2004) http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/28/politics/28cnd-talk.html?oref=login
