There is no such thing as an accident, only a failure to recognise the hand of fate

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.

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.

The greatest ornament of an illustrious life is modesty and humility, which go a great way in the character even of the most exalted princes.

Without cavalry, battles are without result.

The true policy of government is to make use of aristocracy, but under the forms and in the spirit of democracy.

The first quality of a soldier is constancy in enduring fatigue and hardship. Courage is only the second. Poverty privation and want are the school of the good soldier.