Napoleon Quotes
100 quotes
Napoleon
French military leader and emperor who conquered much of Europe
100 Quotes
I saw the crown of France lying on the ground, so I picked it up with my sword
— Reminiscences at St. Helena
It requires more courage to suffer than to die
— Conversations at Saint Helena
A true man hates no one
— Memorial de Sainte-Hélène
A soldier will fight long and hard for a bit of colored ribbon
— Campaign Speech, 1815
Great ambition is the passion of a great character
— St. Helena Memoirs
A leader is a dealer in hope
— Las Cases, Memorial of Saint Helena
The word impossible is not in my dictionary
— Attributed by many sources; referenced in correspondence and reported conversation with staff
In our time none has the conception of what is great. It is up to me to show them
— Words Attributed to Napoleon, 1796
Throw off your worries when you throw off your clothes at night
— Napoleon’s Maxims
The reason most people fail instead of succeed is they trade what they want most for what they want at the moment
— Attributed, referenced in The Mind of Napoleon
France has more need of me than I of France
— Before departing Elba, 1815
If I had to choose a religion, the sun as the universal giver of life would be my god
— Reported in conversations during his exile at St. Helena
Courage isn’t having the strength to go on; it is going on when you don’t have strength
— Quoted by General George S. Patton in Patton's Papers, attributed to Napoleon
If they want peace, nations should avoid the pin-pricks that precede cannon shots
— Memoirs
The torment of precautions often exceeds the dangers to be avoided
— Napoleon’s Maxims
In politics, stupidity is not a handicap
— Maxims and Opinions of Napoleon
The French complain of everything, and always
— Conversations at Saint Helena
The battlefield belongs to the one who arrives there first and leaves last
— Attributed, military maxims derived from his correspondence
You must not fight too often with one enemy, or you will teach him all your art of war
— Reflections and Maxims
A revolution is an idea which has found its bayonets
— Quoted in Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte by Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne
A throne is only a bench covered with velvet
— St. Helena, exile letters
The most dangerous moment comes with victory
— Memoirs dictated at Saint Helena
The truest wisdom is a resolute determination
— Napoleon's Commentaries
The best cure for the body is a quiet mind
— St. Helena, spoken to his physician
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
— Maxims of Napoleon
There is one kind of robber whom the law does not strike at, and who steals what is most precious to men: time
— Maxims and Thoughts of Napoleon
The human race is governed by its imagination
— Maxims and Thoughts of Napoleon
Men are moved by two levers only: fear and self-interest
— Quoted in Bertrand’s memoirs from St. Helena
The strong man is the one who is able to intercept at will the communication between the senses and the mind
— Maxims of Napoleon
Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence
— Attributed in various memoirs
History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon
— St. Helena, 1815
Impossible is a word to be found only in the dictionary of fools
— Letter to his brother Joseph, 1817
The strong man is the one who is able to intercept at will the communication between the senses and the mind
— Attributed in various memoirs
I base my calculation on the expectation that luck will be against me
— Maxims
There is no such thing as accident; it is fate misnamed
— Memoirs
Victory is not always winning the battle... but rising every time you fall
— Attributed in Napoleon: In His Own Words
The greatest danger occurs at the moment of victory
— Memoirs
The battlefield is a scene of constant chaos. The winner will be the one who controls that chaos, both his own and the enemy's
— Military Memoirs, c. 1807
You must not fight too often with one enemy, or you will teach him all your art of war
— Maxims and Reflections
You become strong by defying defeat and by turning loss and failure into success
— Correspondence
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
— Napoleon’s Maxims
Public opinion is the thermometer a monarch should constantly consult
— Memoirs
He who fears being conquered is sure of defeat
— Correspondence, 1805
The art of governing consists in not letting men grow old in their jobs
— Correspondence, 1806
The art of war is to gain more from your opponent than he gains from you
— Maxims of Napoleon
The battlefield is a scene of constant chaos. The winner will be the one who controls that chaos, both his own and the enemy's
— Attributed in military correspondence
Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake
— Memoirs of Napoleon by Emmanuel de Las Cases
I can no longer obey; I have tasted command, and I cannot give it up
— Exile in Saint Helena
Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide
— Maxims of Napoleon
A constitution should be short and obscure
— Table Talk, Saint Helena
Ability is nothing without opportunity
— Maxims of Napoleon
The reason most people fail instead of succeed is they trade what they want most for what they want at the moment
— Maxims of Napoleon
There 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
— Correspondence, 1808
Men of genius are meteors destined to burn to light their century
— Letters from St. Helena
The best way to make every one poor is to insist on equality of wealth
— Memoirs of Napoleon
A picture is worth a thousand words
— Attributed in the Maxims of Napoleon
If you want a thing done well, do it yourself
— Attributed, Memoirs of Napoleon
Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide
— Memoirs
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
— Table Talk, St. Helena
The act of policing is, in order to punish less often, to punish more severely
— Reflections
From the sublime to the ridiculous is but a step
— During the retreat from Russia, 1812
The hand that gives is above the hand that takes
— Correspondence
Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever
— Attributed in various memoirs
In war, the only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything
— Memoirs
Ten people who speak make more noise than ten thousand who are silent
— St. Helena Memoirs
The strong man is the one who is able to intercept at will the communication between the senses and the mind
— Maxims and Reflections
The strong man is he who can sacrifice the gratification of the present for a future idea
— Maxims of Napoleon
Nothing is lost as long as courage remains
— Letter to Josephine, 1796
The truest wisdom is a resolute determination
— Maxims of Napoleon
The surest way to remain poor is to be honest
— Attributed in various letters
Four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets
— Quoted by de Bourrienne: Memoirs of Napoleon, Book 2
China is a sleeping giant; let her sleep, for when she wakes she will move the world
— Attributed by multiple sources; commonly referenced in memoirs such as Memorial de Sainte-Hélène
Dogs of war are trained to obey, not to think
— St. Helena, during exile
You must not fear death, my lads; defy him, and you drive him into the enemy's ranks
— Battle of Austerlitz, 1805
Never tell your enemy he is doing the wrong thing
— Attributed in memoirs and books such as Memorial de Sainte-Hélène
Victory belongs to the most persevering
— Attributed, Memoirs of Napoleon
In war, the moral is to the physical as three is to one
— Maxims of War
My destiny is not to be trifled with
— Memoirs dictated at Saint Helena
Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich
— St. Helena, 1817
Men are moved by two levers only: fear and self-interest
— Maxims and Reflections
Imagination rules the world
— Remarks to the Council of State
Men are more easily governed through their vices than through their virtues
— Correspondence and Sayings
Conquests will come and go but this work will endure
— On the Napoleonic Code, Memoirs of Count Miot de Melito
I can no longer obey; I have tasted command, and I cannot give it up
— Napoleon's Memoirs
Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action comes, stop thinking and go in
— Maxims of War
To understand the man you have to know what was happening in the world when he was twenty
— St. Helena Memoirs
Men are moved by two levers only: fear and self-interest
— Maxims of Napoleon
The absurdity of war lies in the fact that an ounce of diplomacy is worth a pound of gunpowder
— Attributed, St. Helena reflections
Circumstances—what are circumstances? I make circumstances
— St. Helena, as recalled by Las Cases
Power is my mistress. I have worked too hard at her conquest to allow anyone to take her away from me
— Memoirs
The strong are always best alone
— Aphorisms and Thoughts
Doctors will have more lives to answer for in the next world than even we generals
— St. Helena, 1820
The strong man is he who is able to intercept at will the communication between the senses and the mind
— Napoleon's Letters and Reflections
My downfall raises me to infinite heights
— St. Helena, 1816
Soldiers generally win battles; generals get credit for them
— Attributed in memoirs and letters
The best way to keep one’s word is not to give it
— Memoirs of Constant
The great proof of madness is the disproportion of one's designs to one's means
— St. Helena, recorded by Las Cases
Nothing is more difficult than to decide
— Maxims
The strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must
— Attributed, various correspondences
Morality is the weakness of the brain
— St. Helena, according to Count Montholon