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).
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.
Unhappy the general who comes on the field of battle with a system.
Ability is nothing without opportunity.
In war, groping tactics, half-way measures, lose everything.
France will always be a great nation.
Able was I ere I saw Elba.
Policy and morals concur in repressing pillage.
In order not to be astonished at obtaining victories, one ought not to think only of defeats.
The issue of a battle is the result of an instant, of a thought. There is the advance, with its various combinations, the battle is joined, the struggle goes on a certain time, the decisive moment presents itself, a spark of genius discloses it, and the smallest body of reserves accomplish victory.
A Government protected by foreigners will never be accepted by a free people.
Orders and decorations are necessary in order to dazzle the people.
What are the conditions that make for the superiority of an army? Its internal organization, military habits in officers and men, the confidence of each in themselves; that is to say, bravery, patience, and all that is contained in the idea of moral means.
There is only one favorable moment in war; talent consists in knowing how to seize it.
Bonaparte robs a nation of its independence: deposed as emperor, he is sent into exile, where the world’s anxiety still does not think him safely enough imprisoned, guarded by the Ocean. He dies: the news proclaimed on the door of the palace in front of which the conqueror had announced so many funerals, neither detains nor astonishes the passer-by: what have the citizens to mourn?
Washington's Republic lives on; Bonaparte’s empire is destroyed. Washington and Bonaparte emerged from the womb of democracy: both of them born to liberty, the former remained faithful to her, the latter betrayed her.
The great difficulty with politics is, that there are no established principles.
Malice delights to blacken the characters of prominent men.
My most splendid campaign was that of March 20; not a single shot was fired.