Quotes & anectdotes from
the wise,
the foolish,
the courageous &
the drunk

Napoleon Bonaparte Military Officer

  • Gender: Male
  • Citizenship: France
  • Born: Aug 15, 1769
  • Died: May 5, 1821

He who knows how to flatter also knows how to slander.

You must not fear death, my lads defy him, and you drive him into the enemy's ranks.

There is one kind of robber whom the law does not strike at, and who steals what is most precious to men: time.

The herd seek out the great, not for their sake but for their influence and the great welcome them out of vanity or need.

Power is my mistress. I have worked too hard at her conquest to allow anyone to take her away from me.

Courage is like love it must have hope for nourishment.

Skepticism is a virtue in history as well as in philosophy.

Doctors will have more lives to answer for in the next world than even we generals.

A soldier will fight long and hard for a bit of colored ribbon.

The strong man is the one who is able to intercept at will the communication between the senses and the mind.

Music is the voice that tells us that the human race is greater than it knows.

A picture is worth a thousand words.

To 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.

War is the business of barbarians.

When small men attempt great enterprises, they always end by reducing them to the level of their mediocrity.

You must not fight too often with one enemy, or you will teach him all your art of war.

All religions have been made by men.

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

In politics... never retreat, never retract... never admit a mistake.

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

If they want peace, nations should avoid the pin-pricks that precede cannon shots.

Men take only their needs into consideration - never their abilities.

History is a set of lies agreed upon.

It requires more courage to suffer than to die.

Death is nothing, but to live defeated and inglorious is to die daily.

The great proof of madness is the disproportion of one's designs to one's means.

Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich.

The best cure for the body is a quiet mind.

Women are nothing but machines for producing children.

Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action has arrived, stop thinking and go in.

In politics stupidity is not a handicap.

I am sometimes a fox and sometimes a lion. The whole secret of government lies in knowing when to be the one or the other.

What is history but a fable agreed upon?

A leader is a dealer in hope.

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

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

The people to fear are not those who disagree with you, but those who disagree with you and are too cowardly to let you know.

Respect the burden.

Men are more easily governed through their vices than through their virtues.

The human race is governed by its imagination.

One should never forbid what one lacks the power to prevent.

The first virtue in a soldier is endurance of fatigue courage is only the second virtue.

Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever.

If I had to choose a religion, the sun as the universal giver of life would be my god.

The best way to keep one's word is not to give it.

It is the cause, not the death, that makes the martyr.

Imagination rules the world.

The truest wisdom is a resolute determination.

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

Religion is excellent stuff for keeping common people quiet.