Napoleon Bonaparte Quotes

England is a nation of shopkeepers.

History is a myth that men agree to believe.

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

A general must be a charlatan.

My true glory is not to have won 40 battles ... Waterloo will erase the memory of so many victories, ... But ... what will live forever, is my Civil Code.

Nothing renders a nation so despicable as religious despotism.

It is only by prudence, wisdom, and dexterity that great ends are attained and obstacles overcome. Without these qualities nothing succeeds.

I have doubtless erred more or less in politics, but a crime I never committed.

One can lead a nation only by helping it see a bright outlook. A leader is a dealer in hope.

The only one who is wiser than anyone is everyone.

There are only two forces that unite men - fear and interest.

History is a set of lies agreed upon.

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

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

The art of being sometimes audacious and sometimes very prudent is the secret of success.

Great men are meteors designed to burn so that earth may be lighted.

Do you know what is more hard to bear than the reverses of fortune? It is the baseness, the hideous ingratitude, of man.

History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon.

A journalist is a grumbler, a censurer, a giver of advice, a regent of sovereigns, a tutor of nations. Four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets.

The best medicine against the grapes of wrath is a whiff of grapeshot

Throw off your worries when you throw off your clothes at night.

To a father who loves his children victor has no charms. When the heart speaks, glory itself is an illusion.

Music, of all the liberal arts, has the greatest influence over the passions, and it is that to which the legislator ought to give the greatest encouragement.

I may lose a battle but I will never lose a minute.

Oh Man, Man. How despicable in slavery, how great when fired with the love of freedom!

Men are moved by two levers only: fear and self interest.

It's the people who are in the wrong who get angry.

To be believed make the truth unbelievable.

We should wash our dirty linen at home.

One must change one's tactics every ten years if one wishes to maintain one's superiority.

A book in which there were no lies would be a curiosity.

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

All religions have been made by men.

There is no place in a fanatic's head where reason can enter.

Impossible is a word to be found only in the dictionary of fools.

One must learn to forgive and not to hold a hostile, bitter attitude of mind, which offends those about us and prevents us from enjoying ourselves. One must recognize human shortcomings and adjust himself to them rather than to be constantly finding fault with them.

What is the government? Nothing, unless supported by opinion.

The surest way to remain poor is to be an honest man.

A leader is a dealer in hope.

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.

If you wish to be a success in the world, promise everything, deliver nothing.

A Constitution should be short and obscure.

We must laugh at man to avoid crying for him.

If the art of war were nothing but the art of avoiding risks, glory would become the prey of mediocre minds.... I have made all the calculations; fate will do the rest.

I make my battle plans from the spirit of my sleeping soldiers

Republican despotism is more fertile in acts of tyranny, because everyone has a hand in it.

Brave deeds are the monuments of brave men.

Leaders deal in hope.