Napoleon Bonaparte (1769 – 1821)
French military general who rose to prominence in the French Revolution, becoming the ruler of France as First Consul of the French Republic (11 November 1799 - 18 May 1804), and then Emperor of the French and King of Italy under the name Napoleon I (18 May 1804 - 6 April 1814, and again briefly from 20 March - 22 June 1815).
Changing from the defensive to the offensive, is one of the most delicate operations in war.
Never depend on the multitude, full of instability and whims; always take precautions against it.
Jesus Christ was the greatest republican.
Immortality is the best recollection one leaves.
Wherever wood can swim, there I am sure to find this flag of England.
In politics nothing is immutable. Events carry within them an invincible power. The unwise destroy themselves in resistance. The skillful accept events, take strong hold of them and direct them.
To do all that one is able to do, is to be a man; to do all that one would like to do, would be to be a god.
Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.
More glorious to merit a sceptre than to possess one.
What is the government? nothing, unless supported by opinion.
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.
In politics, an absurdity is not an impediment.
Laws which are consistent in theory often prove chaotic in practice.
A King should sacrifice the best affections of his heart for the good of his country; no sacrifice should be above his determination.
That dependable courage, which in spite of the most sudden circumstances, nevertheless allows freedom of mind, of judgment and of decision, is exceedingly rare.
Our credulity is a part of the imperfection of our natures. It is inherent in us to desire to generalize, when we ought, on the contrary, to guard ourselves very carefully from this tendency.
A king is sometimes obliged to commit crimes; but they are the crimes of his position.
Men have their virtues and their vices, their heroisms and their perversities; men are neither wholly good nor wholly bad, but possess and practice all that there is of good and bad here below. Such is the general rule. Temperament, education, the accidents of life, are modifying factors. Outside of this, everything is ordered arrangement, everything is chance. Such has been my rule of expectation and it has usually brought me success.
Sometimes a great example is necessary to all the public functionaries of the state.
The fool has one great advantage over a man of sense — he is always satisfied with himself.