Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Season 2

Quark:
It all comes down to the Third Rule of Acquisition. You don't know that one, do you?

Sakonna:
I am not well-versed in Ferengi philosophy.

Quark:
Remind me to give you a copy of the Rules; you'll never know when they'll come in handy. Now, the Third Rule clearly states, "Never spend more for an acquisition than you have to."

Sakonna:
Logical. But I fail to see how that applies to my situation.

Quark:
You want to acquire peace. Fine, peace is good. But how much are you willing to pay for it?

Sakonna:
Whatever it costs.

Quark:
That's the kind of irresponsible spending that causes so many business ventures to fail. You're forgetting the Third Rule! Right now, peace could be bought at a bargain price, and you don't even realize it.

Sakonna:
...I find this very confusing.

Quark:
[sighs] Then I'll make it so simple that even a Vulcan can understand: the Central Command has been caught red-handed smuggling weapons to their settlers. So every ship that approaches the de-militarized zone will be searched. Without the support of the Central Command, the Cardassian settlers won't be so eager to fight.

Sakonna:
You forget the weapons they already have.

Quark:
They have weapons, you have weapons, everyone has weapons. But right now, no one has a clear advantage! So the price of peace is at an all-time low. This is the perfect time to sit down and hammer out an agreement. Don't you get it? Attacking the Cardassians now will only escalate the conflict, and make peace more expensive in the long run. Now, I ask you... is that logical?