A form of government that is not the result of a long sequence of shared experiences, efforts, and endeavors can never take root.
Napoleon BonaparteA 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.
Napoleon BonaparteThere 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.
Napoleon BonaparteThere is no Nation however small which had the right to set itself free, that has not rescued itself from the dishonour of obeying the Prince imposed by an enemy in the hour of victory.
Napoleon BonaparteAmbition never is in a greater hurry that I; it merely keeps pace with circumstances and with my general way of thinking.
Napoleon BonaparteDie young, and I shall accept your death-but not if you have lived without glory, without being useful to your country, without leaving a trace of your existence: for that is not to have lived at all.
Napoleon BonaparteIf you know a country's geography, you can understand and predict its foreign policy.
Napoleon BonaparteTragedy 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.
Napoleon BonaparteI 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.
Napoleon BonaparteWhat a solace Christianity must be to one who has an undoubted conviction of its truth!
Napoleon BonaparteNo amount of money will induce someone to lay down their life, but they will gladly do so for a bit of yellow ribbon.
Napoleon BonaparteAcross a chasm of eighteen hundred years, Jesus Christ makes a demand which is beyond all others difficult to satisfy; He asks for that which a philosopher may often seek in vain at the hands of his friends, or a father of his children, or a bride of her spouse, or a man of his brother. He asks for the human heart; He will have it entirely to Himself. He demands it unconditionally; and forthwith His demand is granted. Wonderful!
Napoleon BonaparteAll the great captains have performed vast achievements by conforming with the rules of art--by adjusting efforts to obstacles.
Napoleon BonaparteThe nature of Christ's existence is mysterious, I admit; but this mystery meets the wants of man. Reject it, and the world is an inexplicable riddle; believe it, and the history of our race is satisfactorily explained.
Napoleon BonaparteThis soldier, I realized, must have had friends at home and in his regiment; yet he lay there deserted by all except his dog. I looked on, unmoved, at battles which decided the future of nations. Tearless, I had given orders which brought death to thousands. Yet here I was stirred, profoundly stirred, stirred to tears. And by what? By the grief of one dog. Napoleon Bonaparte, on finding a dog beside the body of his dead master, licking his face and howling, on a moonlit field after a battle. Napoleon was haunted by this scene until his own death.
Napoleon BonaparteGive 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.
Napoleon BonaparteTo 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.
Napoleon BonaparteTrue character stands the test of emergencies. Do not be mistaken, it is weakness from which the awakening is rude.
Napoleon BonaparteDemocracy may become frenzied, but it has feelings and can be moved. As for aristocracy, it is always cold and never forgives.
Napoleon BonaparteThe 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.
Napoleon BonaparteAfter me, the Revolution - or, rather the ideas which formed it - will resume their course. It will be like a book from which the marker is removed, and one starts to read again at the page where one left off.
Napoleon BonaparteDoctors will have more lives to answer for in the next world than even we generals.
Napoleon BonaparteIt's the unconquerable soul of man, and not the nature of the weapon he uses, that ensures victory
Napoleon BonaparteIn the last analysis, one must be a military man in order to govern. It is only with boot and spurs that one can govern a horse.
Napoleon BonaparteWhen small men attempt great enterprises, they always end by reducing them to the level of their mediocrity.
Napoleon Bonaparte