The affairs of war, like the destiny of battles, as well as empires, hang upon a spiders thread.
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.
A leader is a dealer in hope.
Conquests will come and go but Delambre's work will endure.
The poor man commands respect; the beggar must always excite anger.
We are nothing but by the law.