Napoleon Bonaparte Quotes
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War is like government, a matter of tact.
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In a battle, as in a siege, the art consists in concentrating very heavy fire on a particular point. The line of battle once established, the one who has the ability to concentrate an unlooked for mass of artillery suddenly and unexpectedly on one of these points is sure to carry the day.
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Tis a principle of war that when you can use the lightning, 'tis better than cannon.
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I would rather have a general who was lucky than one who was good.
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I would believe any religion that could prove it had existed since the beginning of the world. But when I see Socrates, Plato, Moses, and Mohammed I do not think there is such a one. All religions owe their origin to man.
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Muhammad was a prince; he rallied his compatriots around him. In a few years, the Muslims conquered half of the world. They plucked more souls from false gods, knocked down more idols, razed more pagan temples in fifteen years than the followers of Moses and Jesus did in fifteen centuries. Muhammad was a great man. He would indeed have been a god, if the revolution that he had performed had not been prepared by the circumstances.
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The greatest general is he who makes the fewest mistakes.
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It is an ambassador's duty to stand up for his nation's foreign policy in any era and under any government whatsoever. Ambassadors are, in the full meaning of the term, titled spies.
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Give me enough ribbons to place on the tunics of my soldiers and I can conquer the world.
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Called to the throne by the voice of the people, my maxim has always been: A career open to talent without distinction of birth. It is this system of equality for which the European oligarchy detests me.
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The best medicine against the grapes of wrath is a whiff of grapeshot.
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Never lose sight of this maxim, that you should establish your cantonments at the most distant and best protected point from the enemy, especially where a surprise is possible. By this means you will have time to unite all your forces before he can attack you.
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We live and die in the midst of marvels.
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Charges of cavalry are equally useful at the beginning, the middle and the end of a battle. They should be made always, if possible, on the flanks of the infantry, especially when the latter is engaged in front.
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I 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.
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You would make a ship sail against the winds and currents by lighting a bonfire under her decks? I have no time for such nonsense.
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France always has plenty men of talent, but it is always deficient in men of action and high character.
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The reason I beat the Austrians is, they did not known the value of five minutes.
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I cannot approve of your method of operation, you proceed like a bewildered idiot, taking not the least notice of my orders.
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The fate of a Nation may sometimes depend upon the position of a fortress.
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Adversity is the midwife of genius.
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To extraordinary circumstance we must apply extraordinary remedies.
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Bloodletting is among the ingredients of political medicine.
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We are made weak both by idleness and distrust of ourselves. Unfortunate, indeed, is he who suffers from both. If he is a mere individual he becomes nothing; if he is a king he is lost.