Klemens von Metternich

“When Paris sneezes, Europe catches a cold.”

“The word 'freedom' means for me not a point of departure, but a genuine point of arrival.”

“Error has never approached my spirit.”

“The men who make history have not time to write it.”

“The word 'Italy' is a geographical expression, not a political one.”

“Any plan is better than no plan.”

“Govern and change nothing.”

“Diplomacy is the art of avoiding the appearance of victory.”

“The first and greatest concern of every nation is its own security.”

“Stability is not immobility.”

“It is useless to close the gates against ideas; they overleap them.”

“The great axioms of political science are derived from the knowledge of the human mind and heart.”

“I have come into the world either too early or too late.”

“Order cannot be secured from the bottom up. It must be imposed from the top down.”

“The abuse of a thing is no argument against its use.”

“A diplomat who says 'yes' means 'perhaps'; a diplomat who says 'perhaps' means 'no'; a diplomat who says 'no' is no diplomat.”