"In order to govern, the question is not to follow out a more or less valid theory but to build with whatever materials are at hand. The inevitable must be accepted and turned to advantage."

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More quotes from: Napoleon Bonaparte

• "A celebrated people lose dignity upon a closer view. "
• "A Constitution should be short and obscure. "
• "A leader is a dealer in hope. "
• "A man will fight harder for his interests than for his rights. "
• "A picture is worth a thousand words. "
• "A revolution can be neither made nor stopped. The only thing that can be done ..."
• "A revolution is an idea which has found its bayonets. "
• "A soldier will fight long and hard for a bit of colored ribbon. "
• "A throne is only a bench covered with velvet. "
• "A true man hates no one. "
• "Ability is nothing without opportunity. "
• "Ambition never is in a greater hurry that I; it merely keeps pace with circumstances ..."
• "An army marches on its stomach. "
• "Courage is like love; it must have hope for nourishment. "
• "Courage is like love; it must have hope to nourish it. "
• "Death is nothing, but to live defeated and inglorious is to die daily. "
• "Doctors will have more lives to answer for in the next world than even we ..."
• "England is a nation of shopkeepers. "
• "Every soldier carries a marshall's baton in his pack. "
• "Few things are brought to a sucessful issue by impetuous desire, but most by calm ..."
• "Forethought we may have, undoubtedly, but not foresight. "
• "Four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets. "
• "From the heights of these pyramids, forty centuries look down on us. "
• "Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever. "
• "Great ambition is the passion of a great character. Those endowed with it may perform ..."
• "He who fears being conquered is sure of defeat. "
• "He who knows how to flatter also knows how to slander. "
• "History is a set of lies agreed upon. "
• "History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon. "
• "I am sometimes a fox and sometimes a lion. The whole secret of government lies ..."
• "I can no longer obey; I have tasted command, and I cannot give it up. "
• "I have only one counsel for you - be master. "
• "I love power. But it is as an artist that I love it. I love ..."

• "I made all my generals out of mud. "
• "If I always appear prepared, it is because before entering an undertaking, I have meditated ..."
• "If I had to choose a religion, the sun as the universal giver of life ..."
• "If they want peace, nations should avoid the pin-pricks that precede cannon shots. "
• "If you start to take Vienna - take Vienna. "
• "If you want a thing done well, do it yourself. "
• "If you wish to be a success in the world, promise everything, deliver nothing. "
• "Imagination rules the world. "
• "Impossible is a word to be found only in the dictionary of fools. "
• "In politics stupidity is not a handicap. "
• "It is the cause, not the death, that makes the martyr. "
• "It requires more courage to suffer than to die. "
• "Let France have good mothers, and she will have good sons. "
• "Let the path be open to talent. "
• "Medicines are only fit for old people. "
• "Men are more easily governed through their vices than through their virtues. "
• "Men are Moved by two levers only: fear and self interest. "
• "Men take only their needs into consideration - never their abilities. "
• "Music of all the arts has the most influence on the passions and the legislator ..."
• "Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence. "
• "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake. "
• "Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide. "
• "One must change one's tactics every ten years if one wishes to maintain one's superiority. "
• "One should never forbid what one lacks the power to prevent. "
• "Power is my mistress. I have worked too hard at her conquest to allow anyone ..."
• "Public opinion is the thermometer a monarch should constantly consult. "
• "Religion is excellent stuff for keeping common people quiet. "
• "Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich. "
• "Respect the burden. "
• "Riches do not consist in the possession of treasures, but in the use made of ..."
• "Skepticism is a virtue in history as well as in philosophy. "
• "Ten people who speak make more noise than ten thousand who are silent. "

• "The act of policing is, in order to punish less often, to punish more severely. "
• "The battlefield is a scene of constant chaos. The winner will be the one who ..."
• "The best cure for the body is a quiet mind. "
• "The best way to keep one's word is not to give it. "
• "The extent of your consciousness is limited only by your ability to love and to ..."
• "The first virtue in a soldier is endurance of fatigue; courage is only the second ..."
• "The French complain of everything, and always. "
• "The great proof of madness is the disproportion of one's designs to one's means. "
• "The herd seek out the great, not for their sake but for their influence; and ..."
• "The human race is governed by its imagination. "
• "The infectiousness of crime is like that of the plague. "
• "The people to fear are not those who disagree with you, but those who disagree ..."
• "The strong man is the one who is able to intercept at will the communication ..."
• "The surest way to remain poor is to be an honest man. "
• "The torment of precautions often exceeds the dangers to be avoided. It is sometimes better ..."
• "There are only two forces in the world, the sword and the spirit. In the ..."
• "There are only two forces that unite men - fear and interest. "
• "There are two levers for moving men - interest and fear. "
• "There is one kind of robber whom the law does not strike at, and who ..."
• "There is only one step from the sublime to the ridiculous. "
• "Vanity made the [French] Revolution; liberty was only a pretext. "
• "Victory belongs to the most persevering. "
• "War is the business of barbarians. "
• "Water, air, and cleanness are the chief articles in my pharmacy. "
• "We must laugh at man to avoid crying for him. "
• "What is history but a fable agreed upon? "
• "When I want any, good head work done; I always choose a man, if possible ..."
• "When small men attempt great enterprises, they always end by reducing them to the level ..."
• "With audacity one can undertake anything, but not do everything. "
• "Women are nothing but machines for producing children. "
• "You must not fear death, my lads; defy him, and you drive him into the ..."
• "You must not fight too often with one enemy, or you will teach him all ..."