Prince Metternich

"Travel is the best education for understanding the world."

"The goal of all knowledge is self-knowledge."

"In every human being there is an invincible hope, born at the same moment as the spirit."

"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination."

"I have always observed that to succeed in the world one must appear mad but be wise."

"The problem with revolution is that no revolutionary can foresee its true consequence."

"Justice without mercy is cruelty; mercy without justice is weakness."

"The duration of my life is of no account; what matters is its intensity."

"Patience is the virtue of the strong."

"I respect talent wherever I find it."

"The world is governed by very different personages from what is imagined by those who are not behind the scenes."

"Art is the expression of the inexpressible."

"True strength lies in being able to control one's passions."

"A true friend never deserts you."

"The greatest monuments are often those built on the ruins of error."

"Life teaches us that we must learn to accept the inevitable with grace."

"Dreams without effort are mere fantasies."

"Music is the language of the soul."

"The pursuit of power corrupts even the most virtuous."

"In nature, there is nothing created, nothing lost, everything changes."

"To be alone is not to be without friends; it is to be without pretense."

"The measure of a man is what he does with power."

"Knowledge is power, but only if it is put to use."

"Hope is the companion of despair, and where there is no despair there is no hope."

"Beauty is the promise of happiness."

"Every man has his star and every man can reach his star."

"The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become absolutely free, or to die."

"War is the continuation of politics by other means."

"I have never regretted my mistakes, for I have always learned from them."

"The secret of success is to do the common thing uncommonly well."