Napoleon Quotes

In war, the general alone can judge of certain arrangements. It depends on him alone to conquer difficulties by his own superior talents and resolution.

We are made weak both by idleness and distrust of ourselves. Unfortunate, indeed, is he who suffers from both. If he is a mere individual he becomes nothing; if he is a king he is lost.

Civilization does everything for the mind and favors it entirely at the expense of the body.

Paradise is a center whither the souls of all men are proceeding, each sect in its particular road.

Policemen and prisons ought never to be the means used to bring men back to the practice of religion.

Prison, blood, death, create enthusiasts and martyrs, and bring forth courage and desperate resolution.

An empty throne always tempts me.

We must serve the people worthily, and not occupy ourselves in trying to please them. The best way, to gain their affections is to do them good.

A book in which there were no lies would be a curiosity.

A nation recruits men more easily than it can retrieve its honour.

We are nothing but by the law.

Man is entitled by birthright to a share of the earth's produce sufficient to fill the needs of his existence.

Much shedding of blood, many great actions, and triumphs, toil and perseverance are the end of all things human.

A true master of politics is able to calculate, down to the smallest fraction, the advantages to which he may put his very faults.

To a father who loves his children victor has no charms. When the heart speaks, glory itself is an illusion.

Sometimes a great example is necessary to all the public functionaries of the state.

When defending itself against another country, a nation never lacks men, but too often, soldiers.

I have never loved anyone for love's sake except, perhaps, Josephine - a little.

Reprisals are but a sad resource.

An urgent missive sent to Josephine Home in three days. Don't wash.

In war, moral factors acount for three quarters of the whole; relative material strength accounts for only one quarter.

It is not set speeches at the moment of battle that render soldiers brave.

War is like government, a matter of tact.

The true policy of government is to make use of aristocracy, but under the forms and in the spirit of democracy.

Patriotism is a word which represents a noble idea.

Victory and disaster establish indestructible bonds between armies and their commanders.

A victorious general must know how to employ severity, justness, and mildness by turns, if he would allay sedition or prevent it.

A great reserve and severity of manners are necessary for the command of those who are older than ourselves.

Man, not men, is the most important consideration.

Whatever may be the position in life of a parent, it is his duty to share his crust with his children. If you want a thing done well, do it yourself.

Between a battle lost and a battle won, the distance is immense and there stand empires.

I may have had many projects, but I never was free to carry out any of them.

The word impossible is not French.

The confidence with which a Sovereign is invested, is solid only when it is sanctioned by the suffrages of the people, who clothed him with the supreme magistracy.

Military despotism represses generous sentiments, priestly tyranny stifles them.

I am a soldier and accustomed to risking my life every day. I am full of the fire of youth; I cannot act with the restraint of an accomplished diplomat.

Not one cent should be raised unless it is in accord with the law.

Jesus Chris was more than man.

A new-born Government must shine and astonish - the moment it loses its éclat it falls.

Tragedy warms the soul, elevates the heart, can and ought to create heroes. In this sense, perhaps, France owes a part of her great actions to Corneille.

My generals are a parcel of post inspectors.

You cannot drag a man's conscience before any tribunal, and no one is answerable for his religious opinions to any power on earth.

While I live I will never resort to irredeemable paper.

Posterity will talk of Washington as the founder of a great empire, when my name shall be lost in the vortex of revolution.

It is often in the audacity, in the steadfastness, of the general that the safety and the conservation of his men is found.

So you think the police foresees and knows everything. The police invents more than it discovers.

All Italians are plunderers.

Wisdom and policy dictate that we must do as destiny demands and keep peace with the irresistible march of events.

War,--the trade of barbarians!

In a narrow sphere great men are blunderers.