Napoleon Bonaparte Quotes

In politics stupidity is not a handicap.

Never depend on the multitude, full of instability and whims; always take precautions against it.

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

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

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

If you want to get on in this world make many promises, but don't keep them.

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

God is on the side with the best artillery

Impossible is the word found only in a fool's dictionary. Wise people create opportunities for themselves and make everything possible.

War justifies everything.

Conscription is the vitality of a nation, the purification of its morality, and the real foundations of all its habits

The greatest ornament of an illustrious life is modesty and humility, which go a great way in the character even of the most exalted princes.

The first virtue in a soldier is endurance of fatigue; courage is only the second virtue.

The first method is that of a schemer and leads only to mediocre results; the other method is the path of genius and changes the face of the world.

Among so many conflicting ideas and so many different perspectives, the honest man is confused and distressed and the skeptic becomes wicked ... Since one must take sides, one might as well choose the side that is victorious, the side which devastates, loots, and burns. Considering the alternative, it is better to eat than to be eaten.

In war the simplest manoeuvres are the best.

The only way to lead people is to show them a future: a leader is a dealer in hope.

It is easier to brave and threaten, than to conquer an enemy.

True heroism consists in being superior to the ills of life, in whatever shape they may challenge us to combat.

It is the success which makes great men.

The art of being sometimes audacious and sometimes very prudent is the secret of success.

Rascality has limits; stupidity has not.

I have only one counsel for you - be master.

What is the government? Nothing, unless supported by opinion.

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

Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.

Friendship is but a name. I love no one.

Go Sir, gallop and don't forget that the world was made in six days. You can ask me for anything but not time.

Men, in general, are but great children.

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.

Men will risk their lives, even die for ribbons.

Nothing is more arrogant than the weakness which feels itself supported by power.

The heart may be broken, and the soul remain unshaken.

Europe is a molehill. All great empires and revolutions have been on the Orient; six hundred millions live there.

Even when I am gone, I shall remain in people's minds the star of their rights, my name will be the war cry of their efforts, the motto of their hopes.

In war, men are nothing, one man is everything.

All men of genius, and all those who have gained rank in the republic of letters, are brothers, whatever may be the land of their nativity.

Obedience to public authority ought not to be based either on ignorance or stupidity.

The leader's role is to define reality, then give hope

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

While I live I will never resort to irredeemable paper.

I am conquered less by fortune than by the egotism and ingratitude of my companions in arms.

A great European federative system alone can be favourable to the development of civilisation.

Die young, and I shall accept your death-but not if you have lived without glory, without being useful to your country, without leaving a trace of your existence: for that is not to have lived at all.

In political administration, no problem is ever simple. It can never be reduced to the question whether a certain measure is good or not.

In war there is but one favorable moment; the great art is to seize it!

The man fitted for affairs and authority never considers individuals, but things and their consequences.

Here, Gentlemen, a dog teaches us a lesson in humanity.

A good sketch is better than a long speech.

Hereditary succession to the magistracy is absurd, as it tends to make a property of it; it is incompatible with the sovereignty of the people.

I may lose a battle but I will never lose a minute.

A man does not have himself killed for a half-pence a day or for a petty distinction.You must speak to the soul in order to electrify him

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

The inevitable end of multiple chiefs is that they fade and disappear for lack of unity.

To have a right estimate of a man's character, we must see him in misfortune.

After making a mistake or suffering a misfortune, the man of genius always gets back on his feet.

A man will fight harder for his interests than for his rights.

The best way to make every one poor is to insist on equality of wealth.

There are only two forces that unite men - fear and interest.

One might as well try to charge through a wall.