Klemens von Metternich

“Error has never approached my spirit.”

“Stability is not immobility.”

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

“Govern and change nothing.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

“When Paris sneezes, Europe catches a cold.”

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

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

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

“Any plan is better than no plan.”

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