A diplomat who says "yes" means "maybe", a diplomat who says "maybe" means "no", and a diplomat who says "no" is no diplomat.

More quotes by Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord

On hearing of Napoleon's death; reported in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia of Practical Quotations (1922)

In the Chamber of Peers (1821)

Hoyt's New Cyclopedia of Practical Quotations (1922)

Ascribed to Talleyrand in The Hundred Days (1815)

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.