A nation recruits men more easily than it can retrieve its honour.

Great ambition is the passion of a great character. Those endowed with it may perform very good or very bad acts. All depends on the principles which direct them.

A battle sometimes decides everything; and sometimes the most trifling thing decides the fate of a battle.

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 most terrible of all my battles was the one before Moscow. The French showed themselves to be worthy of victory, but the Russians showed themselves worthy of being invincible.

War,--the trade of barbarians!

Tis a principle of war that when you can use the lightning, 'tis better than cannon.