Napoléon Bonaparte
Title: Emperor Napoléon Bonaparte
Birth Name: Napoleone di Buonaparte
Birthdate: August 15, 1769
Birthplace: Ajaccio, Corsica, France
Date of Death: May 5, 1821
Occupation: Head of State
Profile: Military and political leader; regarded as both a historical figure and a legend.
Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon
Number of Quotes: 114
A celebrated people lose dignity upon a closer view.
A constitution should be short and obscure.
Often cited regarding his authoritarian constitution of the Year X.
A leader is a dealer in hope.
From his memoirs on St. Helena, summarizing his philosophy of command.
A man cannot become an atheist merely by wishing it.
A man will fight harder for his interests than for his rights.
A picture is worth a thousand words.
The origin of this common phrase is often attributed to Napoleon, though this is debated.
A revolution can be neither made nor stopped. The only thing that can be done is
for one of several of its children to give it a direction by dint of victories.
A revolution is an idea which has found its bayonets.
Encapsulating his view that force is necessary to enact ideological change.
A soldier will fight long and hard for a bit of coloured ribbon.
A throne is only a bench covered with velvet.
A true man hates no one.
Ability is of little account without opportunity.
Reflecting his belief in seizing the moment.
Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires. But on what
did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded
his empire upon love; and at this hour millions of men would die for him.
A famous meditation recorded during his exile on St. Helena.
All religions have been made by men.
Always mystify, mislead, and surprise the enemy if possible.
A core tenet of his military strategy.
Ambition never is in a greater hurry than I; it merely keeps pace with circumstances and with my general way of thinking.
Among those who dislike oppression are many who like to oppress.
An army marches on its stomach.
Perhaps his most famous maxim, emphasizing the supreme importance of logistics and supply.
Courage is like love; it must have hope for nourishment.
Courage isn't having the strength to go on - it is going on when you don't have the strength.
Attributed to him, illustrating his focus on willpower.
Death is nothing, but to live defeated and inglorious is to die daily.
A statement on honor and glory from his military proclamations.
Doctors will have more lives to answer for in the next world than even we generals.
England is a nation of shopkeepers.
Forethought we may have, undoubtedly, but not foresight.
Four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets.
France has more need of me than I have need of France.
From the heights of these pyramids, forty centuries look down on us.
From the sublime to the ridiculous there is but one step.
Reportedly said after his disastrous retreat from Moscow in 1812.
Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever.
God is on the side of the best artillery.
A pragmatic and cynical twist on the common saying God is
on the side of the big battalions.
Great ambition is the passion of a great character. Those endowed with it may
perform very good or very bad acts. All depends on the principles which direct them.
He who fears being conquered is certain of defeat.
A maxim on the psychology of warfare.
He who knows how to flatter also knows how to slander.
History is a set of lies agreed upon.
History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon.
I am sometimes a fox and sometimes a lion. The whole secret of government lies in knowing when to be the one or the other.
I am the successor, not of Louis XVI, but of Charlemagne.
Stating his ambition to be seen as the unifier of Europe, not merely a French king.
I can no longer obey; I have tasted command, and I cannot give it up.
Reflecting his ambition upon returning from Egypt, before the Coup of Brumaire.
I have only one counsel for you - be master.
I love power. But it is as an artist that I love it. I love it as a musician loves his violin, to draw out its sounds and chords and harmonies.
I made all my generals out of mud.
If I had to choose a religion, the sun as the universal giver of life would be my god.
A deistic sentiment attributed to him.
If they want peace, nations should avoid the pin-pricks that precede cannon shots.
A diplomatic warning about the escalation of minor conflicts.
If you want a thing done well, do it yourself.
If you wish to be a success in the world, promise everything, deliver nothing.
Imagination rules the world.
Highlighting his belief in the power of ideas and vision.
Impossible is a word to be found only in the dictionary of fools.
A classic expression of his relentless will.
In order to govern, the question is not to follow out a more or less valid theory but to build
with whatever materials are at hand. The inevitable must be accepted and turned to advantage.
In politics stupidity is not a handicap.
In politics... never retreat, never retract... never admit a mistake.
In war, the moral is to the physical as three is to one.
Emphasizing the critical importance of morale, esprit de corps, and the will to fight.
It is my wish that my ashes may repose on the banks of the Seine, in the midst of the French people, whom I have loved so well.
It is the cause, not the death, that makes the martyr.
A cynical but pragmatic observation on glory and sacrifice.
It requires more courage to suffer than to die.
Josephine...
Let the path be open to talent.
Medicines are only fit for old people.
Men are more easily governed through their vices than through their virtues.
Men are moved by two levers only: fear and self interest.
A bleak view of human nature that often guided his policies.
Men take only their needs into consideration - never their abilities.
Music is the voice that tells us that the human race is greater than it knows.
Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.
A fundamental principle of his military and political strategy.
Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide.
One must change one's tactics every ten years if one wishes to maintain one's superiority.
One should never forbid what one lacks the power to prevent.
Power is my mistress. I have worked too hard at her conquest to allow anyone to take her away from me.
Public opinion is the thermometer a monarch should constantly consult.
Religion is excellent stuff for keeping common people quiet.
A famously cynical remark about the social utility of religion.
Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich.
Respect the burden.
Riches do not consist in the possession of treasures, but in the use made of them.
Skepticism is a virtue in history as well as in philosophy.
Soldiers generally win battles; generals get credit for them.
Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action has arrived, stop thinking and go in.
A maxim on decision-making and execution.
Ten people who speak make more noise than ten thousand who are silent.
An observation on the nature of public opinion and the power of a vocal minority.
The act of policing is, in order to punish less often, to punish more severely.
The army is the true nobility of our country.
The battle of Austerlitz is the grandest of all I have fought.
The battlefield is a scene of constant chaos. The winner will be the one who controls that chaos, both his own and the enemies.
The best cure for the body is a quiet mind.
The best way to keep one's word is not to give it.
Reflecting his complex and often manipulative diplomatic style.
The extent of your consciousness is limited only by your ability to love and to embrace with your love the space around you, and all it contains.
The first virtue in a soldier is endurance of fatigue; courage is only the second virtue.
The French complain of everything, and always.
The future of a child is the work of his mother.
Expressing his belief in the fundamental role of mothers in shaping society.
The great proof of madness is the disproportion of one's designs to one's means.
An ironic statement, given his own grand ambitions.
The herd seek out the great, not for their sake but for their influence; and the great welcome them out of vanity or need.
The human race is governed by its imagination.
The infectiousness of crime is like that of the plague.
The man who has no opinion of his own, but depends upon the opinion and taste of others, is a slave.
A statement on independence of mind.
The people to fear are not those who disagree with you, but those who disagree with you and are too cowardly to let you know.
A insight into court politics and sycophancy.
The strong man is the one who is able to intercept at will the communication between the senses and the mind.
On self-mastery and discipline.
The surest way to remain poor is to be an honest man.
The torment of precautions often exceeds the dangers to be avoided. It is sometimes better to abandon one's self to destiny.
The truest wisdom is a resolute determination.
There are only two forces in the world, the sword and the spirit. In the long run the sword will always be conquered by the spirit.
A recognition of the ultimate power of ideas over pure force.
There are only two forces that unite men - fear and interest.
There is no such thing as accident; it is fate misnamed.
There is one kind of robber whom the law does not strike at, and who steals what is most precious to men: time.
A reflection on the value of time.
There is only one step from the sublime to the ridiculous.
Throw off your worries when you throw off your clothes at night.
To do all that one is able to do, is to be a man; to do all that one would like to do, is to be a god.
To extraordinary circumstances we must apply extraordinary remedies.
Justifying his authoritarian measures, such as becoming First Consul for life and later Emperor.
Victory belongs to the most persevering.
A core belief of his military philosophy.
War is the business of barbarians.
Water, air, and cleanness are the chief articles in my pharmacy.
We must laugh at man to avoid crying for him.
What is history but a fable agreed upon?
A skeptical and famous view on the nature of historical narrative.
When small men attempt great enterprises, they always end by reducing them to the level of their mediocrity.
A critique of committees and bureaucrats.
When soldiers have been baptized in the fire of a battle-field, they have all one rank in my eyes.
With audacity one can undertake anything, but not do everything.
Women are nothing but machines for producing children.
You must not fear death, my lads; defy him, and you drive him into the enemy's ranks.
You must not fight too often with one enemy, or you will teach him all your art of war.
A strategic warning about familiarizing an opponent with your tactics.
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