Note 26 — Chapter VIII · JOURNEYS TO THE CRIMEA AND RUMANIA—PRESIDENT POINCARÉ’S VISIT—DECLARATION OF WAR BY GERMANY (APRIL-JULY, 1914)

The Czar used to say that diplomacy is the art of making white appear black. Apropos of this subject, he once quoted me Bismarck’s definition of an ambassador, “A man sent to another country to tell lies for the benefit of his own,” and he added: “Thank Heaven they’re not all trained in his school, but diplomats have a gift for complicating the most simple questions.”