Prince Metternich

"The major principle is that no state should be permitted to grow so powerful as to threaten the security of all others."

"I have come late to the rigorous study of philosophy, but I have never ceased to be a practical philosopher."

"The word 'experience' is like the stern of a ship, it is useful only when looking backward."

"Certainty is the privilege of the uneducated; the wise man hesitates."

"The great questions of the day will not be decided by speeches and majority decisions, but by iron and blood."

"My dear friend, I have no enemies."

"Life is a process by which matter becomes spirit and returns to matter again."

"The statesman must think in terms of decades and centuries, not days and years."

"A man of honor should not accuse himself lightly."

"The way to deal with an arrogant man is to let him have his way."

"I have always said that if there were no God it would be necessary to invent him."

"All the misfortunes of mankind spring from the contempt of truth."

"Peace is the only concern worthy of a statesman."

"The great drama of life is composed of the struggles between what is and what might be."

"Sin is not primarily a transgression of law; it is pride, spiritual pride."

"There is a wide chasm between theory and practice."

"I am now convinced that my system is practical and feasible."

"One must never rely upon the reason of men who are obsessed by passion."

"The only thing sure in the world is the necessity of paying taxes and dying."

"A revolution is an idea which has found its bayonets."

"There is a Providence that protects idiots, drunkards, children and the United States."

"The art of diplomacy is the ability to make others believe what you want them to believe."

"Love is the only thing that can elevate the human spirit."

"Strength is not the measure of a man; it is his conscience."

"The past cannot be changed; it can only be understood and learned from."

"What I have learned from experience is that in order to be a great statesman one must have the gift of the right word at the right moment."

"Freedom is a sacred right, but it must be exercised with responsibility."

"A good diplomat must never show his hand until the final moment."

"The beginning of reform is not so much to reform abuses as to correct the spirit."

"Ambition is the grand moving principle of every illustrious action."