“The English can laugh and at the same time strike you down, without the least compunction. It is the secret of their success as a nation.”

"Ramal que para, ramal que cierra."
Ramal que cierra, pueblo que muere http://edant.clarin.com/diario/1997/05/25/i-01602e.htm.

As quoted in Stonewall Jackson and the American Civil War (1904) by George Francis Robert Henderson http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/12233, Ch. 25 : The Soldier and the Man, p. 481
Context: War means fighting. The business of the soldier is to fight. Armies are not called out to dig trenches, to throw up breastworks, to live in camps, but to find the enemy and strike him; to invade his country, and do him all possible damage in the shortest possible time. This will involve great destruction of life and property while it lasts; but such a war will of necessity be of brief continuance, and so would be an economy of life and property in the end. To move swiftly, strike vigorously, and secure all the fruits of victory is the secret of successful war.

"Strike Against War", speech in Carnegie Hall (5 January 1916) http://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/helenstrike.html
Context: Strike against war, for without you no battles can be fought. Strike against manufacturing shrapnel and gas bombs and all other tools of murder. Strike against preparedness that means death and misery to millions of human beings. Be not dumb, obedient slaves in an army of destruction. Be heroes in an army of construction.

Quote translated from his German book: Wer bin ich – und wenn ja, wie viele? Eine philosophische Reise, Goldmann, München 2007, ISBN 3-442-31143-8

As quoted in Murphy's Law Book Two : More Reasons Why Things Go Wrong (1980) by Arthur Bloch, p. 47; similar statements became a routine part of the comedic performances of George Burns.
Attributed

Source: All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten