Quotes by Napoléon Bonaparte
(Page 2 of 6)

The populace judges of the power of God by the power of the priests.

I love power. But it is as an artist that I love it. I love it as a musician loves his violin, to draw out its sounds and chords and harmonies.

Medicine is a collection of uncertain prescriptions, the results of which, taken collectively, are more fatal than useful to mankind.

When I want any, good head work done; I always choose a man, if possible with a long nose.

I may be accused or rashness, but not sluggishness.

The process of quitting smoking doesn't end with the last cigarette. It's not quitting itself, the real key is staying quit.

I am the signet which marks the page where the revolution has been stopped; but when I die it will turn the page and resume its course.

Remember, gentlemen, what a Roman emperor said: The corpse of an enemy always smells sweet.

While I live I will never resort to irredeemable paper.

No amount of money will induce someone to lay down their life, but they will gladly do so for a bit of yellow ribbon.

Men will risk their lives, even die for ribbons.

If it had not been for the English I should have been emperor of the East, but wherever there is water to float a ship we are sure to find them in our way.

For the stability of the Government, the people should have a considerable voice in the elections.

Occupation is the scythe of time.

Whatever shall we do in that remote spot? Well, we will write our memoirs. Work is the scythe of time.

Of all the peoples of Europe, Spaniards disgust me the least.

Anarchy is the stepping stone to absolute power.

Has a man the right to kill himself? Yes, if his death harms no one and if life is an evil to him. When is life an evil? When it offers a man nothing but suffering and pain.

An empty throne always tempts me.

Morality for the upper classes, the gallows for the rabbles.

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, groping tactics, half-way measures, lose everything.

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.

The merit of Mahomet is that he founded a religion without an inferno.

The Bible is no mere book, but a Living Creature, with a power that conquers all that oppose it.

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

Take a dose of medicine once, and in all probability you will be obliged to take an additional hundred afterwards.

In order not to be astonished at obtaining victories, one ought not to think only of defeats.

Order marches with weighty and measured strides. Disorder is always in a hurry.

In politics... never retreat, never retract... never admit a mistake.

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.

I am a monarch of God's creation, and you reptiles of the earth dare not oppose me. I render an account of my government to none save God and Jesus Christ.

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

In war, moral factors acount for three quarters of the whole; relative material strength accounts for only one quarter.

How many things apparently impossible have nevertheless been performed by resolute men who had no alternative but death.

Malice delights to blacken the characters of prominent men.

Do not talk to me of goodness, of abstract justice, of nature law. Necessity is the highest law, public welfare is the highest justice.

Terrorism, War and Bankruptcy are caused by the privatization of money, issued as a debt and compounded by interest.

It is my wish that my ashes may repose on the banks of the Seine, in the midst of the French people, whom I have loved so well.

He is almost a statesman. He lies well.

It is often in the audacity, in the steadfastness, of the general that the safety and the conservation of his men is found.

All the scholastic scaffolding falls, as a ruined edifice, before a single word: faith.

Men who have changed the world never achieved their success by winning the chief citizens to their side, but always by stirring the masses.

An army travels on its stomach. Soup makes the soldier.

War is a lottery in which nations ought to risk nothing but small amounts.

A starving army is actually worse than none.

It requires more courage to suffer than to die.

Clearly, the pleasures wines afford are transitory -- but so are those of the ballet, or of a musical performance. Wine is inspiring and adds greatly to the joy of living.

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

Treaties are observed as long as they are in harmony with interests.

True wisdom for a general is vigorous determination.

Until you spread your wings, you'll have no idea how far you can fly.

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

I want the whole of Europe to have one currency; it will make trading much easier.

On victory, you deserve beer. On defeat, you need it.

Six hours' sleep for a man, seven for a woman, and eight for a fool.

Providence is always on the side of the last reserve.

Human life is the only thing that takes care of itself.

True character stands the test of emergencies. Do not be mistaken, it is weakness from which the awakening is rude.

It would be a joke if the conduct of the victor had to be justified to the vanquished.

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

The only victories which leave no regret are those which are gained over ignorance.

The most dangerous moment comes with victory.

It is an approved maxim in war, never to do what the enemy wishes you to do, for this reason alone, that he desires it.

A true man hates no one.

A beautiful woman like eyes, and a good heart; One is a beautiful thing, and other treasures.

The world soffers a lot. Not because the violence of bad people. But because of the silence of the good people.

Keep a good table and attend to the ladies.

When you set out to take Vienna, take Vienna.

Let France have good mothers, and she will have good sons.

Laws which are consistent in theory often prove chaotic in practice.

History is written by the winners.

Over-preparation is the foe of inspiration.

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.

A good sketch is better than a long speech.

The most constant, the most powerful, and the most generous of all my enemies.

A woman laughing is a woman conquered.

Man only succeeds in life by governing his character or by forging one.

Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action comes, stop thinking and go in.

As a rule, you must always reserve the right to laugh the next day at your thoughts of the previous night.

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

Until then, mio dolce amor, a thousand kisses; but give me none in return, for they set my blood on fire.

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.

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.

Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.

All religions have been made by men.

A Constitution should be short and obscure.

Riches do not consist in the possession of treasures, but in the use made of them.

A throne is only a bench covered with velvet.

A soldier will fight long and hard for a bit of colored ribbon.

The battlefield is a scene of constant chaos. The winner will be the one who controls that chaos, both his own and the enemies.

Ten people who speak make more noise than ten thousand who are silent.

When soldiers have been baptized in the fire of a battle-field, they have all one rank in my eyes.

The French complain of everything, and always.

We must laugh at man to avoid crying for him.

I can no longer obey; I have tasted command, and I cannot give it up.

Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever.

He who knows how to flatter also knows how to slander.

I am the successor, not of Louis XVI, but of Charlemagne.

I have only one counsel for you -- be master.