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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

Respect the burden.

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

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

The best cure for the body is a quiet mind.

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

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

Women are nothing but machines for producing children.

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

What is history but a fable agreed upon?

Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever.

In politics stupidity is not a handicap.

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

A leader is a dealer in hope.

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

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

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

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

All religions have been made by men.

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

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.

Imagination rules the world.

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

Religion is excellent stuff for keeping common people quiet.

Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich.

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

History is a set of lies agreed upon.

War is the business of barbarians.

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.

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

The truest wisdom is a resolute determination.

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

It requires more courage to suffer than to die.

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

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

A picture is worth a thousand words.

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

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

The human race is governed by its imagination.

Courage is like love it must have hope for nourishment.

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

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

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

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

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