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People Take England On Trust, And Repeat That Shakespeare Is The Greatest Of All Authors. I Have Read Him: There Is Nothing That Compares Racine Or Corneille: His Plays Are Unreadable, Pitiful.

-Napoleon Bonaparte

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People Take England On

Napoleon Bonaparte

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People Take England On Trust, And Repeat That Shakespeare Is The Greatest Of All Authors. I Have Read Him: There Is Nothing That Compares Racine Or Corneille: His Plays Are Unreadable, Pitiful.

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More From Napoleon Bonaparte

Equality Should Be The Chief Basis Of The Education Of Youth.

The Army Is The True Nobility Of Our Country.

He That Makes War Without Many Mistakes Has Not Made War Very Long.

Our Credulity Is A Part Of The Imperfection Of Our Natures. It Is Inherent In Us To Desire To Generalize, When We Ought, On The Contrary, To Guard Ourselves Very Carefully From This Tendency.

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.

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!

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

Men Are Never Attached To You By Favours.

Men Are More Easily Governed Through Their Vices Than Through Their Virtues.

I Like Honest Men Of All Colors.

Force Is The Law Of Animals, Men Are Ruled By Conviction.

The Greatest Danger Occurs At The Moment Of Victory

Fanaticism Must Be Put To Sleep Before It Can Be Eradicated.

Six Hours' Sleep For A Man, Seven For A Woman, And Eight For A Fool.

All Systems Of Morality Are Fine. The Gospel Alone Has Exhibited A Complete Assemblage Of The Principles Of Morality, Divested Of All Absurdity. It Is Not Composed, Like Your Creed, Of A Few Common-place Sentences Put Into Bad Verse. Do You Wish To See That Which Is Really Sublime? Repeat The Lord's Prayer.

Good Infantry Is Without Doubt The Sinews Of An Army; But If It Has To Fight A Long Time Against Very Superior Artillery, It Will Become Demoralized And Will Be Destroyed.

I Closed The Gulf Of Anarchy And Brought Order Out Of Chaos. I Rewarded Merit Regardless Of Birth Or Wealth, Wherever I Found It. I Abolished Feudalism And Restored Equality To All Regardless Of Religion And Before The Law. I Fought The Decrepit Monarchies Of The Old Regime Because The Alternative Was The Destruction Of All This. I Purified The Revolution.

To A Father Who Loves His Children Victor Has No Charms. When The Heart Speaks, Glory Itself Is An Illusion.

Men Will Risk Their Lives, Even Die For Ribbons.

Called To The Throne By The Voice Of The People, My Maxim Has Always Been: A Career Open To Talent Without Distinction Of Birth. It Is This System Of Equality For Which The European Oligarchy Detests Me

Greatness Be Nothing Unless It Be Lasting.

A Book In Which There Were No Lies Would Be A Curiosity.

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

All The Scholastic Scaffolding Falls, As A Ruined Edifice, Before A Single Word: Faith.

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.

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.

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

Unite For The Public Safety, If You Would Remain An Independent Nation.

A Constitution Should Be Short And Obscure.

We Frustrate Many Designs Against Us By Pretending Not To See Them.

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

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.

It's The Unconquerable Soul Of Man, And Not The Nature Of The Weapon He Uses, That Ensures Victory

Washington Is Dead! This Great Man Fought Against Tyranny; He Established The Liberty Of His Country. His Memory Will Always Be Dear To The French People, As It Will Be To All Free Men Of The Two Worlds; And Especially To French Soldiers, Who, Like Him And The American Soldiers, Have Combated For Liberty And Equality.

I May Be Accused Or Rashness, But Not Sluggishness.

He Who Knows How To Flatter Also Knows How To Slander.

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.

At The Head Of An Army, Nothing Is More Becoming Than Simplicity.

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.

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

Men Are Ruled By Toys.

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.

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

Whatever Shall We Do In That Remote Spot? Well, We Will Write Our Memoirs. Work Is The Scythe Of Time.

Unhappy The General Who Comes On The Field Of Battle With A System.

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

Rigorous Authority And Justice Are The Kindness Of Kings.

Anarchy Is The Stepping Stone To Absolute Power.

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

Men Are Led By Trifles.

An Army Which Cannot Be Reenforced Is Already Defeated.

The Great Proof Of Madness Is The Disproportion Of One's Designs To One's Means.

Knowledge And History Are The Enemies Of Religion.

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.

The Art Of Government Is Not To Let Me Grow Stale.

The Gospel Is Not A Book; It Is A Living Being, With An Action, A Power, Which Invades Every Thing That Opposes Its Extension, Behold! It Is Upon This Table: This Book, Surpassing All Others. I Never Omit To Read It, And Every Day With Some Pleasure.

Those Who Are Free From Common Prejudices Acquire Others.

In Order To Govern, The Question Is Not To Follow Out A More Or Less Valid Theory But To Build With Whatever Materials Are At Hand. The Inevitable Must Be Accepted And Turned To Advantage.

An Army Marches On Its Stomach.

Mankind's Worst Enemy Is Fear Of Work

I Know Men, And I Tell You, Jesus Is More Than A Man. Comparison Is Impossible Between Him And Any Other Human Being Who Ever Lived, Because He Was The Son Of God.

You Would Make A Ship Sail Against The Winds And Currents By Lighting A Bonfire Under Her Decks? I Have No Time For Such Nonsense.

In War, Character And Opinion Make More Than Half Of The Reality.

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

Let France Have Good Mothers, And She Will Have Good Sons.

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

A True Man Hates No One.

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

An Urgent Missive Sent To Josephine Home In Three Days. Don't Wash.

Great Men Grow Tired Of Contentedness.

As For Myself, I Do Not Believe That Such A Person As Jesus Christ Ever Existed; But As The People Are Inclined To Superstition, It Is Proper Not To Oppose Them.

How Many Seemingly Impossible Things Have Been Accomplished By Resolute Men Because They Had To Do, Or Die?

Impossible Things

Bloodletting Is Among The Ingredients Of Political Medicine.

Better To Have An Open Enemy, Than Hidden Friends.

Act Swiftly And Vigorously, Without 'buts' And 'ifs'.

My Dominion Ends Where That Of Conscience Begins.

A Legislator Must Know How To Take Advantage Of Even The Defects Of Those He Wants To Govern. The Art Consists In Making Others Work Rather Than In Wearing Oneself Out.

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

The French Complain Of Everything, And Always.

The Superior Man Is Never In Anyone's Way.

Better Live A King, Than A Prince.

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.

The Art Of Choosing Men Is Not Nearly So Difficult As The Art Of Enabling Those Chosen To Attain Their Full Worth.

The Allied Powers Having Proclaimed That The Emperor Napoleon Is The Sole Obstacle To The Re-establishment Of Peace In Europe, He, Faithful To His Oath, Declares That He Is Ready To Descend From The Throne, To Quit France, And Even To Relinquish Life, For The Good Of His Country.

Take Time To Deliberate, But When The Time For Action Has Arrived, Stop Thinking And Go In.

Thinking Of You

The True Wealth Of A State Consists In The Number Of Its Inhabitants, In Their Toil And Industry.

When Monarchs Abuse The Rights With Which They Have Been Invested By The Confidence Of The People, And Bring Down Upon Their Heads The Calamity Of War, The People Have The Right To Withdraw Their Allegiance.

My True Glory Is Not To Have Won 40 Battles ... Waterloo Will Erase The Memory Of So Many Victories, ... But ... What Will Live Forever, Is My Civil Code.

War Is Like Government, A Matter Of Tact.

This Accession Of Territory Affirms Forever The Power Of The United States, And I Have Given England A Maritime Rival Who Sooner Or Later Will Humble Her Pride.

Great Men Are Meteors Designed To Burn So That Earth May Be Lighted.

In Order Not To Be Astonished At Obtaining Victories, One Ought Not To Think Only Of Defeats.

Never Ascribe To Malice That Which Is Adequately Explained By Stupidity.

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

Jesus Chris Was More Than Man.

To Have A Right Estimate Of A Man's Character, We Must See Him In Misfortune.

A Magistrate Is Not A Father; He Must Be Just And Severe. Only Tyrants Are Fathers.

There Shall Be No Alps.

Military Despotism Represses Generous Sentiments, Priestly Tyranny Stifles Them.

Great Men Are Meteors, Consuming Themselves To Light The World

The Law, That Is What Makes Men Stay Honest.

War Must Be Made As Intense And Awful As Possible In Order To Make It Short, And Thus To Diminish Its Horrors.

God Is On The Side With The Best Artillery

I Have Come To Realise That Men Are Not Born To Be Free.

Born To Be Free

When People Cease To Complain, They Cease To Think.

It Is The Cause, Not The Death, That Makes The Martyr.

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

Wherever Flowers Cannot Be Reared, There Man Cannot Live.

In A Conquered Country Benevolence Is Not Humanitarianism. It Is A General Political Axiom That A Conqueror Must Not Inspire A Good Opinion Of His Benevolence Until He Has Demonstrated That He Can Be Severe With Malefactors.

In War, As In Love, We Must Come Into Contact Before We Triumph.

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

The Merit Of Mahomet Is That He Founded A Religion Without An Inferno.

The Best Medicine Against The Grapes Of Wrath Is A Whiff Of Grapeshot

Posterity Alone Rightly Judges Kings. Posterity Alone Has The Right To Accord Or Withhold Honors.

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

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.

In Time Of Revolution, With Perseverance And Courage, A Soldier Should Think Nothing Impossible.

Cavalry Is Useful Before, During, And After The Battle.

The Worse The Man The Better The Soldier. If Soldiers Be Not Corrupt They Ought To Be Made So.

My Star Was Fading, I Felt The Reins Slipping Out Of My Grasp, And Could Do Nothing To Stop It.

The Mind Of A General Ought To Resemble And Be As Clear As The Field-glass Of A Telescope.

The Advance And Perfecting Of Mathematics Are Closely Joined To The Prosperity Of The Nation.

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.

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.

Rascality Has Limits; Stupidity Has Not.

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 Life Of A Citizen Is The Property Of His Country.

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

It Is Not By Whining That One Carries Out The Job Of King.

The Best Way To Keep One's Word Is Not To Give It.

Keeping Promises

It Should Not Be Believed That A March Of Three Or Four Days In The Wrong Direction Can Be Corrected By A Countermarch. As A Rule, This Is To Make Two Mistakes Instead Of One.

The Fool Has One Great Advantage Over A Man Of Sense; He Is Always Satisfied With Himself.

We Live And Die In The Midst Of Marvels.

The Poor Man Commands Respect; The Beggar Must Always Excite Anger.

An Order That Can Be Misunderstood, Will Be Misunderstood.

The Spectacle Of A Field Of Battle After The Combat, Is Sufficient To Inspire Princes With The Love Of Peace, And The Horror Of War.

Large Legislative Bodies Resolve Themselves Into Coteries, And Coteries Into Jealousies.

Occupation Is The Scythe Of Time.

If You Know A Country's Geography, You Can Understand And Predict Its Foreign Policy.

For The Stability Of The Government, The People Should Have A Considerable Voice In The Elections.

War,--the Trade Of Barbarians!

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

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

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.

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

I Hope Before Long To Press You In My Arms And Shall Shower On You A Million Burning Kisses As Under The Equator.

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

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

Great Ambition Is The Passion Of A Great Character.

Leave The Artillerymen Alone, They Are An Obstinate Lot.

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.

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

The Basic Principle That We Must Follow In Directing The Armies Of The Republic Is This: That They Must Feed Themselves On War At The Expense Of The Enemy Territory.

The Friendship Of A Great Man Is A Favor Of The Gods.

True Wisdom For A General Is Vigorous Determination.

A Revolution Can Be Neither Made Nor Stopped. The Only Thing That Can Be Done Is For One Of Several Of Its Children To Give It A Direction By Dint Of Victories.

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

We Should Wash Our Dirty Linen At Home.

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

Moses Has Revealed The Existence Of God To His Nation. Jesus Christ To The Roman World, Muhammad To The Old Continent.

A King Is Sometimes Obliged To Commit Crimes; But They Are The Crimes Of His Position.

God Is On The Side Of The Heaviest Cannon.

I Fear Three Newspapers More Than A Hundred Thousand Bayonets.

Ten People Who Speak Make More Noise Than Ten Thousand Who Are Silent.

Be Successful! I Judge Men Only By The Results Of Their Actions.

I Tell You Wellington Is A Bad General, The English Are Bad Soldiers; We Will Settle This Matter By Lunch Time.

France Will Always Be A Great Nation.

Soldiers! Here Is The Battle You Have So Long Desired! Henceforth Victory Depends On You; We Have Need Of It.

Friends Must Always Be Treated As If One Day They Might Be Enemies.

Kiss The Feet Of Popes Provided Their Hands Are Tied.

That Man Made Me Miss My Destiny.

A King Should Sacrifice The Best Affections Of His Heart For The Good Of His Country; No Sacrifice Should Be Above His Determination.

Much Shedding Of Blood, Many Great Actions, And Triumphs, Toil And Perseverance Are The End Of All Things Human.

Power Is What They Like - It Is The Greatest Of All Aphrodisiacs.

All Becomes Easy When We Follow The Current Of Opinion; It Is The Ruler Of The World.

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

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.

What Is The Future? What Is The Past? What Are We? What Is The Magic Fluid That Surrounds Us And Conceals The Things We Most Need To Know? We Live And Die In The Midst Of Marvels.

It Is Easy To Know When A Government Wishes For Peace By Observing The Character Of The Person Sent To Negotiate For It.

The Art Of The Police Is Not To See What It Is Useless That It Should See.

When Soldiers Have Been Baptized In The Fire Of A Battle-field, They Have All One Rank In My Eyes.

There Are Certain Things In War Of Which The Commander Alone Comprehends The Importance. Nothing But His Superior Firmness And Ability Can Subdue And Surmount All Difficulties.

In A Narrow Sphere Great Men Are Blunderers.

I Hope The Time Is Not Far Off When I Shall Be Able To Unite All The Wise And Educated Men Of All The Countries And Establish A Uniform Regime Based On The Principles Of The Quran Which Alone Are True And Which Alone Can Lead Men To Happiness.

I Have Destroyed The Enemy Merely By Marches.

War Is A Lottery In Which Nations Ought To Risk Nothing But Small Amounts.

Malice Delights To Blacken The Characters Of Prominent Men.

The Great Difficulty With Politics Is, That There Are No Established Principles.

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.

The Hand That Gives Is Among The Hand That Takes. Money Has No Fatherland, Financiers Are Without Patriotism And Without Decency, Their Sole Object Is Gain.

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

Give Me An Educated Mother, I Shall Promise You The Birth Of A Civilized, Educated Nation

In These Days The Invention Of Printing, And The Diffusion Of Knowledge, Render Historical Calumnies A Little Less Dangerous: Truth Will Always Prevail In The Long Run, But How Slow Its Progress!

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.

I Would Rather Suffer With Coffee Than Be Senseless.

Nothing Is More Arrogant Than The Weakness Which Feels Itself Supported By Power.

A Portion Of The Multitude Must Ever Be Coerced.

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

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.

Reprisals Are But A Sad Resource.

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