Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston Quotes

We have no eternal allies, and we have not perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow.

There are no permanent alliances, only permanent interests.

Peace is an Excellent Thing, and War is a great Misfortune. But there are Many things More valuable than Peace, and many Things Much worse than war. The maintenance of the Ottoman Empire belongs to the First Class, the Occupation of Turkey by Russia belongs to the Second.

Dirt is not dirty, but only something in the wrong place.

The Schleswig-Holstein question is so complicated, only three men in Europe understood it. One was Prince Albert, who is dead. The second was a German professor who went mad. I am the third and I have forgotten all about it

Half the wrong conclusions at which mankind arrive are reached by the abuse of metaphors, and by mistaking general resemblance or imaginary similarity for real identity.

We have no permanent allies, only permanent interests.

What is merit? The opinion one man entertains of another.

Large republics seem to be essentially and inherently aggressive.

Dirt is matter in the wrong place.