When you say you agree to a thing in principle you mean that you have not the slightest intention of carrying it out in practice.

When a man says he approves of something in principle, it means he hasn't the slightest intention of carrying it out in practice.

When you say that you agree to a thing in principle you mean that you have not the slightest intention of carrying it out in practice.

When a man says he approves of something in principle, it means he hasn't the slightest intention of carrying it out in practice.

Be polite; write diplomatically; even in a declaration of war one observes the rules of politeness.

People never lie so much as before an election, during a war, or after a hunt.