I dare not, and will not suffer Austria to enrich herself through foreign inheritance, ignoring the legitimate title of a German prince.

Bavaria must remain an independent, free German principality, under a sovereign prince.

It is inevitably necessary for the balance of power.

I cannot yield, therefore, as a German prince, that Austria increase her power in an illegitimate manner, but I will cast my good sword in the scales, that the balance is heavier on the side upon which depends the existence of Germany, that she may not be tossed in the air by Austria's weight.
These are my views and reasons for the war upon which I now enter with reluctance.

When the greatness and equilibrium of Germany are at stake, no German prince should dare hesitate.