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).
The future destiny of the child is always the work of his mother. Let France have good mothers, and she will have good sons.
The general of the sea has need of only one science, that of navigation. The one on land has need of all, or of a talent which is the equivalent of all, that will enable him to profit by all experience, and all knowledge. A general of the sea has nothing to divine. He knows where his enemy is, he knows his strength. A general on land never knows anything with certainty, never sees his enemy well, and never knows positively where he is.
The laws of circumstance are abolished by new circumstances.
The sentiment of national honor is never more than half extinguished in the French. It takes only a spark to re-kindle it.
The moment of greatest peril is the moment of victory.
The man fitted for affairs and authority never considers individuals, but things and their consequences.
Messieurs, nous avons un maître, ce jeune homme fait tout, peut tout, et veut tout.
The greater the man, the less is he opinionative, he depends upon events and circumstances.
To listen to the interests of all, marks an ordinary government; to foresee them, marks a great government.
Necessity dominates inclination, will, and right.
Kiss the feet of Popes provided their hands are tied.
If I had succeeded, I would have been the greatest man known to history.
What I have done up to this is nothing. I am only at the beginning of the course I must run. Do you imagine that I triumph in Italy in order to aggrandise the pack of lawyers who form the Directory, and men like Carnot and Barras? What an idea!
Destiny urges me to a goal of which I am ignorant. Until that goal is attained I am invulnerable, unassailable. When Destiny has accomplished her purpose in me, a fly may suffice to destroy me.
A great reserve and severity of manners are necessary for the command of those who are older than ourselves.
The superior man is never in anyone's way.
I hope the time is not far off when I shall be able to unite all the wise and educated men of all the countries and establish a uniform regime based on the principles of the Quran which alone are true and which alone can lead men to happiness.
If I were an Englishman, I should esteem the man who advised a war with China to be the greatest living enemy of my country. You would be beaten in the end, and perhaps a revolution in India would follow.
A constitution should be framed so as not to impede the action of government, nor force the government to its violation.
Muhammad was a great man, fearless soldier; with a handful of men he triumphed at the battle of Badr, great captain, eloquent, a great man of state, it regenerated his homeland, and created in the middle of the deserts of Arabia a new people and a new power.