Napoleon Quotes

There is no such thing as something for nothing.

The heart of a statesman should be in his head.

Power is my mistress. I have worked too hard at her conquest to allow anyone to take her away from me.

Public instruction should be the first object of government.

Champagne! In victory, one deserves it; in defeat one needs it.

History is the invention of historians.

Men are never attached to you by favours.

Democracy, if it is reasonable, limits itself to giving everyone an equal opportunity to compete and to obtain.

In war, the moral element and public opinion are half the battle.

If the art of war were nothing but the art of avoiding risks, glory would become the prey of mediocre minds.... I have made all the calculations; fate will do the rest.

In time of revolution, with perseverance and courage, a soldier should think nothing impossible.

Good intelligence is nine-tenths of any battle.

It is an ambassador's duty to stand up for his nation's foreign policy in any era and under any government whatsoever. Ambassadors are, in the full meaning of the term, titled spies.

Agriculture is the soul and chief support of empires; industry produces riches and the happiness of the people; exportation represents the superabundance, and good use of both.

The most difficult art is not in the choice of men, but in giving to the men chosen the highest service of which they are capable.

War is a serious game in which a man risks his reputation, his troops, and his country. A sensible man will search himself to know whether or not he is fitted for the trade.

Remember that a man, a true man, never hates. His rages and his bad moods never last beyond the present moment-like electric shocks.

An army's effectiveness depends on its size, training, experience, and morale, and morale is worth more than any of the other factors combined.

My dominion ends where that of conscience begins.

Which is heavier: a soldier's pack or a slave's chains?

The mind of a general ought to resemble and be as clear as the field-glass of a telescope.

To attach no importance to public opinion, is a proof that you do not merit its suffrage.

Never interfere with an enemy in the process of destroying himself.

A great Nation should have a fixed Government, so that the death of one man should not overturn it.

A man's palate can, in time, become accustomed to anything.

The sentiment of national honor is never more than half extinguished in the French. It takes only a spark to re-kindle it.

To listen to the interests of all marks an ordinary government; to foresee them marks a great government.

France has more need of me than I have need of France.

It is not enough to give orders they must be obeyed.

Order marches with weighty and measured strides. Disorder is always in a hurry.

All becomes easy when we follow the current of opinion; it is the ruler of the world.

The most insupportable of tyrannies is that of inferiors.

The friendship of a great man is a favor of the gods.

There are so many laws that no one is safe from hanging.

I do not believe it is in our nature to love impartially. We deceive ourselves when we think we can love two beings, even our own children, equally. There is always a dominant affection.

Men are led by trifles.

A man is not dependent upon his fellow creature, when he does not fear death.

A legislator must know how to take advantage of even the defects of those he wants to govern. The art consists in making others work rather than in wearing oneself out.

It must be recognized that the real truths of history are hard to discover. Happily, for the most part, they are rather matters of curiosity than of real importance.

Every man who is worth thirty millions and is not wedded to them, is dangerous to the government.

Medicines are only fit for old people.

A man made for public life and authority never takes account of personalities; he only takes account of things, of their weight and their conseqences.

Do you wish to find out the really sublime? Repeat the Lord's Prayer.

I don't employ Talleyrand when I want a thing done, but only when I want to have the appearance of wanting to do it.

Clearly, the pleasures wines afford are transitory - but so are those of the ballet, or of a musical performance. Wine is inspiring and adds greatly to the joy of living.

In tragedy great men are more truly great than in history. We see them only in the crises which unfold them.

Give me a man with a good allowance of nose,... when I want any good head-work done I choose a man - provided his education has been suitable - with a long nose.

I made all my generals out of mud.

True wisdom for a general is vigorous determination.

Ability is of little account without opportunity. I have very rarely met with two o'clock in the morning courage: I mean instantaneous courage.