Napoleon Bonaparte

Quotes

Men will fight long and hard for a bit of colored ribbon.
A leader has the right to be beaten, but never the right to be surprised.
In politics, an absurdity is not a handicap.
Death is nothing, but to live defeated is to die every day.
"I may lose land...but I never lose a minute."
To exraordinary circumstance we must apply extraordinary remedies.
Death is nothing; but to live defeated and inglorious is to die daily.
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.
An Army of lions commanded by a deer will never be an army of lions.
The more I study the world, the more I am convinced of the inability of brute force to create anything durable.
[Medicine is] a collection of uncertain prescriptions the results of which, taken collectively, are more fatal than useful to mankind.
Ability is of little account without opportunity.
History is a set of lies agreed upon.
What a beautiful fix we are in now; peace has been declared.
Chief of the Army.
In politics, absurdity is not a handicap.
Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever.
A leader is a dealer in hope.
Religion is excellent stuff for keeping common people quiet.
Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action has arrived, stop thinking and go in.
The best way to keep one's word is not to give it.
Victory belongs to the most persevering.
Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.
A man will fight harder for his interests than for his rights.
Ability is nothing without opportunity.
Death is nothing, but to live defeated and inglorious is to die daily.
Four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets.
He who knows how to flatter also knows how to slander.
History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon.
If they want peace, nations should avoid the pin-pricks that precede cannon shots.
Impossible is a word to be found only in the dictionary of fools.
In politics stupidity is not a handicap.
It is the cause, not the death, that makes the martyr.
It requires more courage to suffer than to die.
Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide.
Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich.
Skepticism is a virtue in history as well as in philosophy.
Ten people who speak make more noise than ten thousand who are silent.
The act of policing is, in order to punish less often, to punish more severely.
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.
Women are nothing but machines for producing children.
You must not fight too often with one enemy, or you will teach him all your art of war.
Love is the idler's occupation, the warrior's relaxation, and the soverign's ruination.
Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and myself founded empires; but what foundation did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded an empire upon love; and at this hour millions of men would die for Him.
To write history one must be more than a man, since the author who holds the pen of this great justiciary must be free from all preoccupation of interest or vanity.
Courage is like love; it must have hope for nourishment.
There is only one step from the sublime to the ridiculous.
The whole art of war consists in a well-reasoned and extremely circumspect defensive, followed by rapid and audacious attack.
Never ascribe to malice, that which can be explained by incompetence.
Imagination rules the world.