72 Powerful Napoleon Bonaparte Quotes to Inspire You Last updated on May 20, 2024
Napoleon Bonaparte (born 15 August 1769, Ajaccio, Corsica – died 5 May 1821, St. Helena Island), also known as Napoleon I, was a French military and political leader. Napoleon was a key figure in the French Revolution (1789–99), the first consul of France (1799-1804), and the first Emperor of France (1804-14/15). He is considered to be one of history’s greatest military leaders.
30 Napoleon Bonaparte Quotes About Life & Success If you want a thing done well, do it yourself. Impossible is a word to be found only in the dictionary of fools. You become strong by defying defeat and by turning loss and failure into success . The stupid speak of the past, the wise of the present, and fools of the future. The surest way to remain poor is to be an honest man.
Once you have made up your mind, stick to it; there no longer any ‘if’ or ‘but’. Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action has arrived, stop thinking and go. Great ambition is the passion of a great character. Victory is not always winning the battle...but rising every time you fall. Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide.
Until you spread your wings, you’ll have no idea how far you can fly. If you wish to be success in the world, promise everything, deliver nothing. Death is nothing, but to live defeated and inglorious is to die daily. Courage is like love; it must have hope for nourishment. Imagination rules the world. The human race is governed by its imagination. The truest wisdom is a resolute determination .
The reason most people fail instead of succeed is they trade what they want most for what they want at the moment. Riches do not consist in the possession of treasures, but in the use made of them. Victory belongs to the most persevering. The best cure for the body is a quiet mind. The best way to keep one’s word is not to give it. Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake. He who fears being conquered is sure of defeat. A leader is a dealer in hope. Let France have good mothers, and she will have good sons. A true man hates no one.
Men take only their needs into consideration – never their abilities. There is no such thing as accident; it is fate misnamed. The people to fear are not those who disagree with you, but those who disagree with you and are too cowardly to let you know. 16 Napoleon Bonaparte Quotes War, courage , and Soldiers Soldiers generally win battles; generals get credit for them. A soldier will fight long and hard for a bit of coloured ribbon. Men are moved by two levers only: fear and self-interest. The battlefield is a scene of constant chaos. The winner will be the one who controls that chaos, both his own and the enemies. You must not fear death, my lads; defy him, and you drive him into the enemy’s ranks. It is the cause, not the death, that makes the martyr. If they want peace, nations should avoid the pin-pricks that precede cannon-shots.
I saw the crown of France laying on the ground, so I picked it up with my sword. History is a set of lies agreed upon. One must change one’s tactics every ten years if one wishes to maintain one’s superiority. A man will fight harder for his interests than for his rights. War is the business of barbarians. Four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets. If the art of war were nothing but the art of avoiding risks, glory would become the prey of mediocre minds. You must not fight too often with one enemy, or you will teach him all your art of war. War is ninety percent information.
26 Powerful Napoleon Bonaparte Quotes Friends must always be treated as if one day they might be enemies. We walk faster when we walk alone. A woman laughing is a woman conquered. Courage isn't having the strength to go on - it is going on when you don't have strength. Men who have changed the world never achieved their success by winning the chief citizens to their side, but always by stirring the masses. The only victories which leave no regret are those which are gained over ignorance. Six hours sleep for a man, seven for a woman, and eight for a fool. I would kiss a man’s ass if I needed him. In politics… never retreat, never retract… never admit a mistake. In politics stupidity is not a handicap.
The fool has one great advantage over a man of sense; he is always satisfied with himself. If I had not been born Napoleon, I would have liked to have been born Alexander. In our time none has the conception of what is great. It is up to me to show them. Great men are never cruel without necessity. I base my calculation on the expectation that luck will be against me. It requires more courage to suffer than to die. Religion is excellent stuff for keeping common people quiet. Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich. A society without religion is like a vessel without compass. If I had to choose a religion, the sun as the universal giver of life would be my god. History is written by the winners. Show me a family of readers, and I will show you the people who move the world. You don't reason with intellectuals. You shoot them. We must laugh at man to avoid crying for him. Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever. After making a mistake or suffering a misfortune, the man of genius always gets back on his feet. The world suffers a lot. Not because the violence of bad people, but because of the silence of the good people.