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Some famous person, possibly in the 18th or 19th century, once said
something like "anybody who claims to understand europe is lying." I
don't remember the exact quote. The meaning was, european diplomacy
and politics are so complicated and esoteric that any attempt to
explain anything simply is bound to be wrong, and/or nobody can
possibly understand everything.
Who said it, and what's the exact quote?
Dear spolsky,
Is it possible that the orginal quote referred to the dukedoms of
Schleswig-Holstein, still Danish provinces until 1864 and with a
historical and political background so complicated that no one was
able to understand it? Since these dukedoms were a notable object of
European political crisis between 1848 and 1864, an important and
famous British politician said something quite famous about this. Do
you think this could be the topic of the quotation?
Regards,
Scriptor Case Studies Today Translations - International Affairs, Diplomacy ::
Diplomacy. Get instant quote. Service. From. Into. Sector. Units. Qnty. Get Price > Charity their flagship event European Archives: Forming Partnerships
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that might be it. When I hear the quotation I'll know if it was the
one I was thinking of :)
The gist of the quotation was either "look, don't pretend to
understand it, it's too complicated" OR "anything you can say about
something that complicated is bound to be an oversimplification" Recasting Diplomacy::
in which suspicion of European diplomacy flowered in the new democracy. Wars, Foreign Affairs, vol. 73, No. 6, pp. 2-6, quote from p. 6; Evans figures
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Dear spolsky,
Normally, Google Answers does not allow "trial answers" ... but in
this case, the danger of making a mistake is rather big, so I will
tell you what I think might be the quotation you are looking for. If
you consider it to be the right one, simply let me know and I will
post it as a "regular" answer.
"The Schleswig-Holstein question is so complicated, only three men in
Europe have ever understood it. One was Prince Albert,who is dead. The
second was a German professor who became mad. I am the third and I
have forgotten all about it."
This quotation is attributed to Lord Palmerston, British Prime
Minister in the 1860s, who was commenting the perpetual crisis
concerning the dukedoms of Schleswig and Holstein on the Jutland
peninsula, which finally led to the German-Danish War of 1864.
However, there is no proof Palmerston really ever said or wrote this.
Rather it seems to be a synopsis of what he said in Parliament.
Let me know what you think about this quote.
Regards,
Scriptor
That is not the quote I'm looking for, but it is good enough for my
needs. So answer it and I'll pay for it, then I'll repost my question
to see if anyone can find the original quote I had in mind. Thanks!
Dear spolsky,
According to your wishes, I hereby post my suggestion as an answer.
"The Schleswig-Holstein question is so complicated, only three men in
Europe have ever understood it. One was Prince Albert,who is dead. The
second was a German professor who became mad. I am the third and I
have forgotten all about it."
This quotation is attributed to Lord Palmerston, British Prime
Minister in the 1860s, who was commenting the perpetual crisis
concerning the dukedoms of Schleswig and Holstein on the Jutland
peninsula, which finally led to the German-Danish War of 1864.
However, there is no proof Palmerston really ever said or wrote this.
Rather it seems to be a synopsis of what he said in Parliament.
I did not search for this quotation since I already knew it from my
history studies about Schleswig-Holstein. I only did some background
research, hoping to find the exact source. This remained, alas,
fruitless. Nevertheless, this quote can be found literally hundereds
of times, with minor variations (sometimes, the "German professor" is
a "Danish statesman").
Suggested search terms for additional research on this special quote:
palmerston "schleswig-holstein":
://www.google.de/search?q=palmerston+%22schleswig-holstein%22&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=de&meta=
Thank you very much for your generosity and best regards,
Scriptor
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Quote about European diplomacy