“A conquering army on the border will not be stopped by eloquence.”

“man cannot control the current of events. he can only float with them and steer”

“One day the great European War will come out of some damned foolish thing in the Balkans (1888).”

“Never believe anything in politics until it has been officially denied.”

“People never lie so much as before an election, during a war, or after a hunt.”

“Politics are not a science based on logic; they are the capacity of always choosing at each instant, in constantly changing situations, the least harmful, the most useful.”

“The Balkans aren't worth the life of a single Pomeranian grenadier.”