Józef Piłsudski

To be defeated and not submit, is victory; to be victorious and rest on one's laurels, is defeat.

Poland can have nothing to do with the restoration of the old Russia. Anything rather than that – even Bolshevism.

All that we can gain in the west depends on the Entente — on the extent to which it may wish to squeeze Germany, [while in the east] there are doors that open and close, and it depends on who forces them open and how far.

Whoever wasn't a socialist when he was young will be a son of a bitch when he gets older.

Only the sword now carries any weight in the balance for the destiny of a nation.

I am not going to dictate to you what you write about my life and work. I only ask that you not make me out to be a 'whiner and sentimentalist.'