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Great Events Ever Depend But Upon A Single Hair. The Adroit Man Profits By Everything, Neglects Nothing Which Can Increase His Chances; The Less Adroit, By Sometimes Disregarding A Single Chance, Fails In Everything.

-Napoleon Bonaparte

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Great Events Ever Depend

Napoleon Bonaparte

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Great Events Ever Depend But Upon A Single Hair. The Adroit Man Profits By Everything, Neglects Nothing Which Can Increase His Chances; The Less Adroit, By Sometimes Disregarding A Single Chance, Fails In Everything.

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Alexander, Charlemagne And Myself All Tried To Found An Empire On Force And We Failed. Jesus Christ Is Building An Empire On Love, And Today There Are Millions Of People Who Would Gladly Die For His Sake.

An Aristocracy Is The True Support Of A Monarchy.

Those Who Failed To Oppose Me, Who Readily Agreed With Me And Accepted All My Views, Were Those Who Did Me The Most Injury.

Chess Is Too Difficult To Be A Game And Not Serious Enough To Be A Science Or An Art.

When A Government Is Dependent Upon Bankers For Money, They And Not The Leaders Of The Government Control The Situation

What A Solace Christianity Must Be To One Who Has An Undoubted Conviction Of Its Truth!

It Is Not Set Speeches At The Moment Of Battle That Render Soldiers Brave.

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.

He Who Cannot Look Over A Battlefield With A Dry Eye, Causes The Death Of Many Men Uselessly.

The Unwilling Soldier Will Do Anything To Fight For A Useless Fabric Piece Of Ribbon.

A Constitution Should Be Short And Obscure.

Ordinary Men Died, Men Of Iron Were Taken Prisoner: I Only Brought Back With Me Men Of Bronze.

There Are So Many Laws That No One Is Safe From Hanging.

France Has More Need Of Me Than I Have Need Of France.

Imagination Governs The World.

To Negotiate Is Not To Do As One Likes.

The Life Of A Citizen Is The Property Of His Country.

Revolutions Are Like The Most Noxious Dungheaps, Which Bring Into Life The Noblest Vegetables.

England Is A Nation Of Shopkeepers.

The Conscience Is The Sacred Haven Of The Liberty Of Man.

I Shall Be An Attila To Venice.

Opportunities? I Make Opportunities.

I Love A Brave Soldier Who Has Undergone The Baptism Of Fire.

Strong Coffee, Much Strong Coffee, Is What Awakens Me. Coffee Gives Me Warmth, Waking, An Unusual Force And A Pain That Is Not Without Very Great Pleasure.

Those Who Have Changed The Universe Have Never Done It By Changing Officials, But Always By Inspiring The People.

It Is Exceptional And Difficult To Find In One Man All The Qualities Necessary For A Great General.

A Great Reputation Is A Great Noise, The More There Is Of It, And The Further Does It Swell. Land, Monuments, Nations, All Fall, But The Noise Remains, And Will Reach To Other Generations.

A Well-composed Song Strikes The Mind And Softens The Feelings, And Produces A Greater Effect Than A Moral Work, Which Convinces Our Reason, But Does Not Warm Our Feelings, Nor Effect The Slightest Alteration In Our Habits

Fashion Condemns Us To Many Follies, The Greatest Is To Make Oneself Its Slave.

Men Are Moved By Two Levers Only: Fear And Self Interest.

In Revolution There Are Only Two Sorts Of Men, Those Who Cause Them And Those Who Profit By Them.

I Drink Champagne When I Win, To Celebrate...and I Drink Champagne When I Lose, To Console Myself.

The Tools Belong To The Man Who Can Use Them.

After Making A Mistake Or Suffering A Misfortune, The Man Of Genius Always Gets Back On His Feet.

The English Have No Exaulted Sentiments. They Can All Be Bought.

Nothing Makes The Future Look So Rosy As To Contemplate It Through A Glass Of Chambertin.

Nothing Is More Difficult, And Therefore More Precious, Than To Be Able To Decide.

What Is History But A Fable Agreed Upon?

Writing History

Terrorism, War & Bankruptcy Are Caused By The Privatization Of Money, Issued As A Debt And Compounded By Interest.

Audacity Succeeds As Often As It Fails; In Life It Has An Even Chance.

He Is Almost A Statesman. He Lies Well.

Give Me Enough Medals And I’ll Win You Any War

A Great Nation Should Have A Fixed Government, So That The Death Of One Man Should Not Overturn It.

The Greater The Man, The Less Is He Opinionative, He Depends Upon Events And Circumstances.

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.

Those Who Failed To Oppose Me, Who Readily Agreed With Me, Accepted All My Views, And Yielded Easily To My Opinions, Were Those Who Did Me The Most Injury, And Were My Worst Enemies, Because, By Surrendering To Me So Easily, They Encouraged Me To Go Too Far... I Was Then Too Powerful For Any Man, Except Myself, To Injure Me.

Leaders Deal In Hope.

It's Not The Size Of The Army But The Power Within The Army.

God Is On The Side Of The Heaviest Cannon.

To Be Believed Make The Truth Unbelievable.

Until Then, Mio Dolce Amor, A Thousand Kisses; But Give Me None In Return, For They Set My Blood On Fire.

In Matters Of Government, Justice Means Force As Well As Virtue.

Peoples Of Egypt , You Will Be Told That I Have Come To Destroy Your Religion. Do Not Believe It! Reply That I Have Come To Restore Your Rights!

You May Ask Me For Anything You Like Except Time.

Over-preparation Is The Foe Of Inspiration.

A Constitution Should Be Framed So As Not To Impede The Action Of Government, Nor Force The Government To Its Violation.

France Needs Nothing So Much To Promote Her Regeneration As Good Mothers.

The Jesuits Are A Military Organization, Not A Religious Order. Their Chief Is A General Of An Army, Not The Mere Father Abbot Of A Monastery. And The Aim Of This Organization Is Power - Power In Its Most Despotic Exercise - Absolute Power, Universal Power, Power To Control The World By The Volition Of A Single Man. Jesuitism Is The Most Absolute Of Despotisms - And At The Same Time The Greatest And Most Enormous Of Abuses.

We Should Always Go Before Our Enemies With Confidence, Otherwise Our Apparent Uneasiness Inspires Them With Greater Boldness.

Never Depend On The Multitude, Full Of Instability And Whims; Always Take Precautions Against It.

War Is Not At All Such A Difficult Art As People Think. . . . In Reality It Would Seem That He Is Vanquished Who Is Afraid Of His Adversary And The The Whole Secret Lies In That.

When You Set Out To Take Vienna, Take Vienna.

God Has Given Me The Will And The Force To Overcome All Obstacles.

Where Flowers Degenerate Man Cannot Live.

The Most Insupportable Of Tyrannies Is That Of Inferiors.

When A Man Is A Favorite Of Fortune She Never Takes Him Unawares, And, However Astonishing Her Favors May Be, She Finds Him Ready.

Love Is The Occupation Of The Idle Man, The Amusement Of A Busy One, And The Shipwreck Of A Sovereign.

There Are Two Levers For Moving Men - Interest And Fear.

This Year Has Begun Hopefully For Right Thinkers. After All These Centuries Of Feudal Barbarism And Political Slavery, It Is Surprising To See How The Word Of 'liberty' Sets Minds On Fire.

One Must Learn To Forgive And Not To Hold A Hostile, Bitter Attitude Of Mind, Which Offends Those About Us And Prevents Us From Enjoying Ourselves. One Must Recognize Human Shortcomings And Adjust Himself To Them Rather Than To Be Constantly Finding Fault With Them.

Reprisals Are But A Sad Resource.

I Would Rather Have A General Who Was Lucky Than One Who Was Good.

To Make Yourself Understood To People, One Must First Speak To Their Eyes

Friendship Is But A Name. I Love No One.

He Who Fears Being Conquered Is Sure Of Defeat.

Artillery Is More Essential To Cavalry Than To Infantry, Because Cavalry Has No Fire For Its Defence, But Depends On The Sabre.

Conscription Is The Vitality Of A Nation, The Purification Of Its Morality, And The Real Foundations Of All Its Habits

Which Is Heavier: A Soldier's Pack Or A Slave's Chains?

From Triumph To Downfall There Is But One Step. I Have Noted That, In The Most Momentous Occasions, Mere Nothings Have Always Decided The Outcome Of The Greatest Events.

Until You Spread Your Wings, You'll Have No Idea How Far You Can Fly.

Without Cavalry, Battles Are Without Result.

It Is Often In The Audacity, In The Steadfastness, Of The General That The Safety And The Conservation Of His Men Is Found.

Men Who Have Changed The World Never Achieved Their Success By Winning The Chief Citizens To Their Side, But Always By Stirring The Masses.

The Practice Of Law Sharpens The Mind By Making It Narrow.

My Mind Is A Chest Of Drawers. When I Wish To Deal With A Subject, I Shut All The Drawers But The One In Which The Subject Is To Be Found. When I Am Wearied, I Shut All The Drawers And Go To Sleep.

We Live And Die In The Midst Of Marvels.

History Is Written By The Winners.

Nothing Is So Important In War As An Undivided Command.

Machiavelli Is Right: One Always Must Live With One's Friends With The Idea That They May Turn Into One's Enemies. He Should Have Said, With Everyone.

One Should Never Forbid What One Lacks The Power To Prevent.

Treaties Are Observed As Long As They Are In Harmony With Interests.

Doctors Will Have More Lives To Answer For In The Next World Than Even We Generals.

When I Give A Minister An Order, I Leave It To Him To Find The Means To Carry It Out.

I Know He's A Good General, But Is He Lucky?

I Am Conquered Less By Fortune Than By The Egotism And Ingratitude Of My Companions In Arms.

Every Beggar Shall Be Arrested. But To Arrest A Beggar Merely In Order To Put Him In Jail Would Be Barbarous And Absurd. He Should Be Arrested For The Sole Purpose Of Teaching Him How To Earn A Living By His Work.

Valor Is A Gift. Those Having It Never Know For Sure Whether They Have It Till The Test Comes. And Those Having It In One Test Never Know For Sure If They Will Have It When The Next Test Comes.

My Success And Everything Good That I Have Done, I Owe To My Mother.

Providence Is Always On The Side Of The Last Reserve.

Lack Is More In Means, Than In Principles.

All Great Events Hang By A Single Thread. The Clever Man Takes Advantage Of Everything, Neglects Nothing That May Give Him Some Added Opportunity; The Less Clever Man, By Neglecting One Thing, Sometimes Misses Everything.

The Man Fitted For Affairs And Authority Never Considers Individuals, But Things And Their Consequences.

I Want The Whole Of Europe To Have One Currency; It Will Make Trading Much Easier.

International Incidents Must Not Be Allowed To Shape Foreign Policy, Foreign Policy Must Shape The Incidents.

When I Was Happy I Thought I Knew Men, But It Was Fated That I Should Know Them In Misfortune Only.

God Has Decreed That There Be Sick And Poor In This World, But In The Next It Will Be The Other Way Around.

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.

You Don't Reason With Intellectuals. You Shoot Them.

Do Not Talk To Me Of Goodness, Of Abstract Justice, Of Nature Law. Necessity Is The Highest Law, Public Welfare Is The Highest Justice.

Oh Man, Man. How Despicable In Slavery, How Great When Fired With The Love Of Freedom!

Every Hour Of Lost Time Is A Chance Of Future Misfortune.

For My Part, It Is Not The Mystery Of The Incarnation Which I Discover In Religion, But The Mystery Of Social Order, Which Associates With Heaven That Idea Of Equality Which Prevents The Rich From Destroying The Poor

Victory Belongs To The Most Persevering.

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.

I Have Made All The Calculations; Fate Will Do The Rest.

Conquest Has Made Me What I Am, Only Conquest Can Maintain Me.

Nature Intended Women To Be Our Slaves. They Are Our Property.

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.

A Leader Has The Right To Be Beaten, But Never The Right To Be Surprised.

Every Private In The French Army Carries A Field Marshall Wand In His Knapsack.

Great Battles Are Won With Artillery.

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 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.

You Must Not Fear Death, My Lads; Defy Him, And You Drive Him Into The Enemy's Ranks.

A Cowardly Act! What Do I Care About That? You May Be Sure That I Should Never Fear To Commit One If It Were To My Advantage.

The Infectiousness Of Crime Is Like That Of The Plague.

War Is Ninety Percent Information.

The Torment Of Precautions Often Exceeds The Dangers To Be Avoided. It Is Sometimes Better To Abandon One's Self To Destiny.

Ability Is Nothing Without Opportunity.

Men Of Genius Are Meteors Destined To Burn Themselves Out In Lighting Up Their Age.

The Bible Is Not Merely A Book-it Is A Living Power. . . . Nowhere As In The Bible Can Be Found Such A Series Of Beautiful Ideas And Admirable Maxims Which Pose Before Us Like The Battalions Of A Celestial Army. . . . The Soul Can Never Go Astray While It Has This Book For Its Guide.

The Nature Of Christ Is, I Grant It, From One End To Another, A Web Of Mysteries; But This Mysteriousness Does Not Correspond To The Difficulties Which All Existence Contains. Let It Be Rejected, And The Whole World Is An Enigma; Let It Be Accepted, And We Possess A Wonderful Explanation Of The History Of Man.

Fools Have A Great Advantage Over The Wise; They Are Always Self-satisfied.

Religions Are All Founded On Miracles - On Things We Cannot Understand, Such As The Trinity. Jesus Calls Himself The Son Of God, And Yet Is Descended From David. I Prefer The Religion Of Mahomet - It Is Less Ridiculous Than Ours.

Order Marches With Weighty And Measured Strides. Disorder Is Always In A Hurry.

Every French Soldier Carriers A Marshal's Baton In His Knapsack.

If You (to General Bertrand) Do Not Perceive That Jesus Christ Is God, Very Well; Then I Did Wrong To Make You A General.

America Is A Fortunate Country. She Grows By The Follies Of Our European Nations.

Religion Is Excellent Stuff For Keeping Common People Quiet.

In War One Must Lean On An Obstacle In Order To Overcome It.

Necessity Dominates Inclination, Will, And Right.

Age, Habits Of Business And Experience Have Modified Many Characters.

Where The Government Is Weak, Military Sway Prevails.

Death Is Nothing, But To Live Defeated And Inglorious Is To Die Daily.

It Is Not Enough To Give Orders They Must Be Obeyed.

The Strong Are Good, Only The Weak Are Wicked.

The Truest Wisdom Is A Resolute Determination.

If You Wage War, Do It Energetically And With Severity. This Is The Only Way To Make It Shorter And Consequently Less Inhuman.

He, Who Practices Right, But In The Hope Of Acquiring Great Renown, Is Very Near To Vice.

A Soul You Say? Give My Pocketwatch To A Savage And He'll Think It Has A Soul.

Of All The Peoples Of Europe, Spaniards Disgust Me The Least.

No Amount Of Money Will Induce Someone To Lay Down Their Life, But They Will Gladly Do So For A Bit Of Yellow Ribbon.

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.

Not One Cent Should Be Raised Unless It Is In Accord With The Law.

Power Is Founded Upon Opinion.

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.

The Purpose Of Religion Is To Keep The Poor From Killing The Rich.

All Generals, Officers, And Soldiers Who Capitulate In Battle To Save Their Own Lives Should Be Decimated.

Nothing Is So Contrary To Military Rules As To Make The Strength Of Your Army Known, Either In The Orders Of The Day, In Proclamations, Or In The Newspapers.

My Decision To Destroy The Authority Of The Blacks In Saint Domingue (haiti) Is Not So Much Based On Considerations Of Commerce And Money, As On The Need To Block For Ever The March Of The Blacks In The World.

Suicide Is A Crime The Most Revolting To The Feelings; Nor Does Any Reason Suggest Itself To Our Understanding By Which It Can Be Justified. It Certainly Originates In That Species Of Fear Which We Denominate Poltroonery. For What Claim Can That Man Have To Courage Who Trembles At The Frowns Of Fortunes? True Heroism Consists In Being Superior To The Ills Of Life In Whatever Shape They May Challenge Him To Combat.

True Character Stands The Test Of Emergencies. Do Not Be Mistaken, It Is Weakness From Which The Awakening Is Rude.

Great Men Are Meteors, Consuming Themselves To Light The World

Governments Keep Their Promises Only When They Are Forced, Or When It Is To Their Advantage To Do So.

Never Tell Your Enemy He Is Doing The Wrong Thing.

This Soldier, I Realized, Must Have Had Friends At Home And In His Regiment; Yet He Lay There Deserted By All Except His Dog. I Looked On, Unmoved, At Battles Which Decided The Future Of Nations. Tearless, I Had Given Orders Which Brought Death To Thousands. Yet Here I Was Stirred, Profoundly Stirred, Stirred To Tears. And By What? By The Grief Of One Dog. Napoleon Bonaparte, On Finding A Dog Beside The Body Of His Dead Master, Licking His Face And Howling, On A Moonlit Field After A Battle. Napoleon Was Haunted By This Scene Until His Own Death.

Music, Of All The Liberal Arts, Has The Greatest Influence Over The Passions, And It Is That To Which The Legislator Ought To Give The Greatest Encouragement.

I Start Out By Believing The Worst

The People Excited By Ambitious Demagogues, Sooner Or Later Return Into The Hands Of The Aristocracy.

While I Live I Will Never Resort To Irredeemable Paper.

All Things Proclaim The Existence Of God.

Existence Of God

An Army Which Cannot Be Reenforced Is Already Defeated.

Patriotism Is A Word Which Represents A Noble Idea.

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.

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.

Success Is The Most Convincing Talker In The World.

An Army Must Have But One Line Of Operations. This Must Be Maintained With Care And Abandoned Only For Major Reasons.

I Have Only One Counsel For You - Be Master.

In Statesmanship There Are Predicaments From Which It Is Impossible To Escape Without Some Wrongdoing.

Promptly Improve Your Accidents.

Women Are Nothing But Machines For Producing Children.

I May Be Accused Or Rashness, But Not Sluggishness.

Destiny Urges Me To A Goal Of Which I Am Ignorant. Until That Goal Is Attained I Am Invulnerable, Unassailable. When Destiny Has Accomplished Her Purpose In Me, A Fly May Suffice To Destroy Me.

It Is The Success Which Makes Great Men.

Congratulations

Every Man Who Is Worth Thirty Millions And Is Not Wedded To Them, Is Dangerous To The Government.

War Is Like Government, A Matter Of Tact.

You Do Not Get Peace By Shouting: Peace. Peace Is A Meaningless Word; What We Need Is A Glorious Peace.

True Wisdom For A General Is Vigorous Determination.

It Is Easier To Brave And Threaten, Than To Conquer An Enemy.

History Is The Version Of Past Events That People Have Decided To Agree Upon.

If The Earth Were A Single State, Istanbul Would Be Its Capital.

How Many Really Capable Men Are Children More Than Once During The Day!

I Am The Successor, Not Of Louis Xvi, But Of Charlemagne.

Throw Off Your Worries When You Throw Off Your Clothes At Night.

If We Could Read The Past Histories Of All Our Enemies We Would Disregard All Hostility For Them.

History Paints The Human Heart.

A Man Will Fight Harder For His Interests Than For His Rights.

A Faithful Friend Is The True Image Of The Deity.

Conquests Will Come And Go But Delambre's Work Will Endure.

The Art Of War Is To Gain Time When Your Strength Is Inferior.

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