Napoleon Bonaparte

“England would be better off without Canada; it keeps her in a prepared state for war at a great expense and constant irritation.”

“The art of government is not to let me grow stale.”

“In our time no one has the conception of what is great. It is up to me to show them.”

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

“Do you know what is more hard to bear than the reverses of fortune? It is the baseness, the hideous ingratitude, of man.”

“A man who has no consideration for the needs of his men ought never to be given command.”

“Great men are never cruel without necessity.”

“It is only by prudence, wisdom, and dexterity that great ends are attained and obstacles overcome. Without these qualities nothing succeeds.”

“Victory is not always winning the battle...but rising every time you fall.”

“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.”

“The Jews are the master robbers of the modern age.”

“Where the Government is weak, military sway prevails.”

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

“All the great captains have performed vast achievements by conforming with the rules of art--by adjusting efforts to obstacles.”

“The best medicine against the grapes of wrath is a whiff of grapeshot”

“The word impossible is not French.”

“The fate of a Nation may sometimes depend upon the position of a fortress.”

“The surest way to remain poor is to be an honest man.”

“Unhappy the general who comes on the field of battle with a system.”

“Unity of command is essential to the economy of time. Warfare in the field was like a siege: by directing all one's force to a single point a breach might be made, and the equilibrium of opposition destroyed.”

“Unavailable wars are always just.”

“I have so often been mistaken that I no longer blush for it”

“Opportunities? I make opportunities.”

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

“I believe love to be hurtful to society, and to the individual happiness of men. I believe, in short, that love does more harm than good.”

“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.”

“An empty throne always tempts me.”

“It is necessary for the heart to feel as for the body to be fed.”

“Battles are lost or won in 15 minutes”

“What are the conditions that make for the superiority of an army? Its internal organization, military habits in officers and men, the confidence of each in themselves; that is to say, bravery, patience, and all that is contained in the idea of moral means.”

“A journalist is a grumbler, a censurer, a giver of advice, a regent of sovereigns, a tutor of nations. Four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets.”

“The best cure for the body is a quiet mind.”

“Good and decent people must be protected and persuaded by gentle means, but the rabble must be led by terror.”

“Governments keep their promises only when they are forced, or when it is to their advantage to do so.”

“It is a mistake, too, to say that the face is the mirror of the soul. The truth is, men are very hard to know, and yet, not to be deceived, we must judge them by their present actions, but for the present only.”

“Two armies are two bodies which meet and try to frighten each other.”

“Let the path be open to talent.”

“You do not get peace by shouting: Peace. Peace is a meaningless word; what we need is a glorious peace.”

“There is no man more pusillanimous than I when I am planning a campaign. I purposely exaggerate all the dangers and all the calamities that the circumstances make possible. I am in a thoroughly painful state of agitation. This does not keep me from looking quite serene in front of my entourage; I am like an unmarried girl laboring with child. Once I have made up my mind, everything is forgotten except what leads to success.”

“It is not necessary to bury the truth. It is sufficient merely to delay it until nobody cares.”

“Fashion condemns us to many follies, the greatest is to make oneself its slave.”

“It's the people who are in the wrong who get angry.”

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

“A commander in chief ought to say to himself several times a day: If the enemy should appear on my front, on my right, on my left, what would I do? And if the question finds him uncertain, he is not well placed, he is not as he should be, and he should remedy it.”

“Without cavalry, battles are without result.”

“My waking thoughts are all of thee. Your portrait and the remembrance of last night's delirium have robbed my senses of repose. Sweet and incomparable Josephine, what an extraordinary influence you have over my heart. Are you vexed? Do I see you sad? Are you ill at ease? My soul is broken with grief, and there is no rest for your lover.”

“A man will fight harder for his interests than for his rights. Men are moved by only two mechanisms: fear and self-interest. Victory belongs to the most persevering.”

“You can do anything with bayonets except sit on them”

“Public esteem is the recompense of honest men.”

“High politic is only common sense applied to great things.”