“Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.”
– Napoleon
Napoleon at 23 or so by Henri Philippoteaux,
1835. (Photo: Wikimedia/CC0)
“The word impossible is not French.”
Napoleon
“If you want a thing well done, do it yourself.”
Napoleon
“Envy is a declaration of inferiority.”
Napoleon
“The fool has one great advantage over a man of sense -he is always satisfied with himself.”
Napoleon
“Courage cannot be counterfeited.”
Napoleon
“War is becoming an anachronism.”
Napoleon
“My most splendid campaign was that of March 20; not a single shot was fired.”
Napoleon
“A man who has no consideration for the needs of his men ought never to be given command.”
Napoleon
“More glorious to merit a scepter than to possess one.”
Napoleon
“Great men are meteors designed to burn so that earth may be lighted.”
Napoleon
“The superior man is not by nature impressionable. We praise him, we blame him; it matters little to him. It is to his own judgment that he listens.”
Napoleon
“Prosperity is the best tie between prince and people.”
– Napoleon
Napoleon in Coronation Robes by Francois Gerard,
c. 1804 (Photo: NapoleonIIIofFrance/CCBYSA4.0)
“The heart of a statesman should be in his head.”
Napoleon
“In planning one’s course in life, one should always reserve the right to laugh tomorrow at the ideas of yesterday.”
Napoleon
“Public opinion… capricious as it is, it is, nevertheless, right, reasonable, and just, much oftener than we are disposed to think it is.”
Napoleon
“From triumph to downfall is but a step.”
Napoleon
“Misfortunes have their own heroism.”
Napoleon
“After making a mistake or suffering a misfortune, the man of genius always gets back on his feet.”
Napoleon
“Adversity is the midwife of genius.”
Napoleon
“As a rule, it is circumstances that make men.”
Napoleon
“My soldiers did not fail me; it is I who failed them.”
Napoleon
“A man is known by his conduct to his wife, to his family, and to those under him.”
– Napoleon
Napoleon visiting the Tribunat by Merry-Joseph
Blondel, 1834. (Photo: Wikimedia/CC0)
“In pardoning, we rise above those who insult us.”
Napoleon
“Impatience is a great obstacle to success.”
Napoleon
“Audacity succeeds as often as it fails.”
Napoleon
“In war, luck is half in everything.”
Napoleon
“The presence of the general is necessary… It was not the Roman army that reduced Gaul, but Caesar. It was not the Carthaginian army which held the Republican army trembling at the gates of Rome, but Hannibal.”
Napoleon
“Nothing is more difficult than to decide.”
Napoleon
“Even if social law gives men identical rights, nature will never give them identical faculties.”
Napoleon
“Nothing that degrades a man is useful for long.”
Napoleon
“Strong souls resist pleasures of the senses as mariners shun reefs.”
Napoleon
“The best way to keep one’s word is not to give it.”
Napoleon
“There are only two nations: East and West; and two people: Easterners and Westerners.”
– Napoleon
Napoleon aged 15, statue by Louis Rochet, 1853.
(Photo: Rama/Wikimedia/CCBYSA2.0FR)
“Europe is a molehill. It has never had any great empires -like those of the Orient- numbering six hundred million souls.”
Napoleon
“Conquerors should know the genius and the language of every religion. They ought to be Moslems in Egypt and Catholics in France…”
Napoleon
“… All moral religions are beautiful… What is there in the Vedas, the Koran, the Old Testament, in Confucius, in them all in a word? a pure morality- that is to say, protection of the weak, respect for the laws of the country, and a belief in one God…”
Napoleon
(Photo: Wikimedia/CC0)
“A beautiful woman appeals to the eye; a good woman appeals to the heart. One is a jewel, the other a treasure.”
Napoleon
“Love is folly committed by two.”
Napoleon
“Marriage, to be happy, requires a constant exchange of confidences.”
Napoleon
“In great crises, it is the portion of wives to make reverses bearable.”
– Napoleon
Marriage of Napoleon and Marie-Louise (detail)
by Georges Rouget, 1810. (Photo: Wikimedia/CC0)
“Ever since I left you, I have been sad. I am only happy when by your side. Ceaselessly I recall your kisses, your tears, your enchanting jealousy; and the charms of the incomparable Josephine keep constantly alight a bright and burning flame in my heart and senses.”
Napoleon [Letter to his wife Josephine]
“I thought I loved you some days ago; but, since I saw you, I feel that I love you even a thousand times more. Ever since I have known you, I worship you more every day.” [Letter to Josephine]
Napoleon [Letter to Josephine]
“My life, what a great novel!”
Napoleon [Napoleon used to say this when he was exiled in Elba]
(Photo: Wikimedia/Public domain)
The quotes above were double-checked; they do belong to Mr. Napoleon. They come from his letters, texts written by his acquaintances, and from trustworthy books that gather Napoleon’s sayings.
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