Klemens von Metternich

The events which can not be prevented, must be directed.

— Klemens von Metternich

When Paris sneezes, Europe catches a cold.

— Klemens von Metternich

Stability is not immobility.

— Klemens von Metternich

Error has never approached my spirit.

— Klemens von Metternich

It is useless to close the gates against ideas; they overlap them.

— Klemens von Metternich

Men like M. de Talleyrand are like sharp instruments with which it is dangerous to play.

— Klemens von Metternich

I have never feared that the revolution would be engendered by the universities; but that at them a whole generation of revolutionaries…

— Klemens von Metternich

When France sneezes, all of Europe catches cold.

— Klemens von Metternich

In Europe democracy is a falsehood. I do not know where it will end, but it cannot end in a quiet old…

— Klemens von Metternich

Any plan conceived in moderation must fail when the circumstances are set in extremes.

— Klemens von Metternich

When Paris has a cold, all Europe sneezes.

— Klemens von Metternich

The word 'Italy' is a geographical expression, a description which is useful shorthand, but has none of the political significance the efforts…

— Klemens von Metternich

The obvious is always least understood.

— Klemens von Metternich

Ten million ignorances do not constitute one knowledge.

— Klemens von Metternich

The word 'freedom' means for me not a point of departure but a genuine point of arrival. The point of departure is…

— Klemens von Metternich

Italy is only a geographical expression.

— Klemens von Metternich

I came into the world either too early or too late; at present, I am good for nothing.

— Klemens von Metternich

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

— Klemens von Metternich