--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People have learned by bitter experience…" description: "\"People have learned by bitter experience that the \"European fraternal union of peoples\" cannot be achieved by mere phrases and pious wishes, but only b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f36/friedrich-engels-8301_alliances_people-have-learned-by-bitter-experience_1139042.jpg" --- # People have learned by bitter experience that the… ![“People have learned by bitter experience that the "European fraternal union of peoples" cannot be achieved by mere phrases and pious wishes, but only by profound revolutions and bloody struggles; they have learned that the question is not that of a fraternal union of all European peoples under a…” quote by Friedrich Engels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f36/friedrich-engels-8301_alliances_people-have-learned-by-bitter-experience_1139042.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f36/friedrich-engels-8301_alliances_people-have-learned-by-bitter-experience_1139042.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f36/friedrich-engels-8301_alliances_people-have-learned-by-bitter-experience_1139042.jpg) > “People have learned by bitter experience that the "European fraternal union of peoples" cannot be achieved by mere phrases and pious wishes, but only by profound revolutions and bloody struggles; they have learned that the question is not that of a fraternal union of all European peoples under a single republican flag, but of an alliance of the revolutionary peoples against the counter-revolutionary peoples, an alliance which comes into being not on paper, but only on the battlefield.” [Friedrich Engels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-engels/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. European unity requires revolutionary action, not just rhetoric; true alliance forms through struggle. **In simple terms:** Unity needs real struggle, not words. Key Takeaway Focus on concrete action for change. Themes politics revolution European history Mood determined serious Type political historical When to use this quote - labor movements - political campaigns - social reforms Key Concepts class struggle nationalism counter-revolution Questions to Reflect On - What sacrifices are needed for true unity? - How can dialogue replace conflict? A Different Perspective Idealistic goals may falter without practical steps. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alliances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alliances/) [Battlefields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/battlefields/) [Bitter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitter/) [Bitter experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitter-experience/) [Bloody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bloody/) [Bloody Struggles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bloody-struggles-3166191/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [European Fraternal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/european-fraternal-3166189/) [Flags](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flags/) [Fraternal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fraternal/) [Mere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mere/) [Paper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paper/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-learned/) [Phrases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phrases/) [Pious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pious/) [Profound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profound/) [Republican](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/republican/) [Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/) [Revolutionary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolutionary/) [Revolutions Bloody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolutions-bloody-2071071/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) [Struggles Learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggles-learned-3166190/) [Unions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unions/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) ## Related quotes > [All revolutions are bloody. The October Revolution was bloodless, but it was only the beginning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dmitri-volkogonov/all-revolutions-are-bloody-the-october-revolution-was-bloodless-but/) [Dmitri Volkogonov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmitri-volkogonov/) > [Do we behave out of fear of punishment, or out of the demands of our heart? For me, it is the latter, as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-we-behave-out-of-fear-of-punishment-or-out-of-the-demands-of-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ “\[T\]hrough bitter experience I have learned that it is best to promise little and then to reward hard work with generosity.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-shah/t-hrough-bitter-experience-i-have-learned-that-it-is-best-to-promise/) [Tahir Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahir-shah/) > [Bitter experience has taught us how fundamental our values are and how great the mission they represent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-peter-balkenende/bitter-experience-has-taught-us-how-fundamental-our-values-are-and/) [Jan Peter Balkenende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-peter-balkenende/) > [“But she did not say it, she kept rigidly silent. 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The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-johnson/if-things-are-tough-remember-that-every-flower-that-ever-bloomed-had/) [Barbara Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-johnson/) > [It takes a major unhappiness, a prolonged and bitter experience, to drive us away from loyalties once formed. And sometimes no amount of punishment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-takes-a-major-unhappiness-a-prolonged-and-bitter-experience-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let every one of us cultivate, in every word that issues from our mouth, absolute truth. 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It is man, real, living man who does all that, who possesses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-engels/history-does-nothing-it-possesses-no-immense-wealth-it-wages-no/) [Friedrich Engels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-engels/) > [ ...it was always our view that in order to attain this \[proletarian revolution\] and the other far more important aims of the future social… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-engels/it-was-always-our-view-that-in-order-to-attain-this-proletarian/) [Friedrich Engels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-engels/) > [Bare-faced covetousness was the moving spirit of civilization from its first dawn to the present day; wealth, and again wealth, and for the third…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-engels/bare-faced-covetousness-was-the-moving-spirit-of-civilization-from/) [Friedrich Engels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-engels/) > [In science, each new point of view calls forth a revolution in nomenclature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-engels/in-science-each-new-point-of-view-calls-forth-a-revolution-in/) [Friedrich Engels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-engels/) > [“Thus, as far as he is a scientific man, as far as he knows anything, he is a materialist; outside his science, in spheres…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-engels/thus-as-far-as-he-is-a-scientific-man-as-far-as-he-knows-anything-he/) [Friedrich Engels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-engels/) > [It is no longer a question anywhere of inventing interconnections from out of our brains, but of discovering them in the facts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-engels/it-is-no-longer-a-question-anywhere-of-inventing-interconnections/) [Friedrich Engels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-engels/) > [Look at the Paris Commune. 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And the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hawke/i-told-david-lange-he-was-crazy-because-you-can-t-have-an-alliance/) [Bob Hawke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hawke/) [Browse all 389 Alliances quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alliances/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "People have learned by bitter experience that the \"European fraternal union of peoples\" cannot be achieved by mere phrases and pious wishes, but only by profound revolutions and bloody struggles; they have learned that the question is not that of a fraternal union of all European peoples under a single republican flag, but of an alliance of the revolutionary peoples against the counter-revolutionary peoples, an alliance which comes into being not on paper, but only on the battlefield.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Friedrich Engels" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-engels/people-have-learned-by-bitter-experience-that-the-european-fraternal/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alliances" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-engels/people-have-learned-by-bitter-experience-that-the-european-fraternal/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f36/friedrich-engels-8301_alliances_people-have-learned-by-bitter-experience_1139042.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f36/friedrich-engels-8301_alliances_people-have-learned-by-bitter-experience_1139042.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f36/friedrich-engels-8301_alliances_people-have-learned-by-bitter-experience_1139042.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“People have learned by bitter experience that the \"European fraternal union of peoples\" cannot be achieved…” — Friedrich Engels", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Friedrich Engels", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-engels/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "People have learned by bitter experience...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-engels/people-have-learned-by-bitter-experience-that-the-european-fraternal/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-engels/people-have-learned-by-bitter-experience-that-the-european-fraternal/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```