Top 500 Napoleon Quotes (2025 Update)
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401. “The Allied Powers having proclaimed that the Emperor Napoleon is the sole obstacle to the re-establishment of peace in Europe, he, faithful to his oath, declares that he is ready to descend from the throne, to quit France, and even to relinquish life, for the good of his country.”

— Napoleon

402. “Being in the Tuileries is not everything: what matters is to stay here.”

— Napoleon

403. “We must serve the people worthily, and not occupy ourselves in trying to please them. The best way, to gain their affections is to do them good.”

— Napoleon

404. “If fifty thousand men were to die for the good of the State, I certainly would weep for them, but political necessity comes before everything else.”

— Napoleon

405. “To write history one must be more than a man, since the author who holds the pen of this great justiciary must be free from all preoccupation of interest or vanity.”

— Napoleon

406. “It follows that any commander in chief who undertakes to carry out a plan which he considers defective is at fault; he must put forth his reasons, insist on the plan being changed, and finally tender his resignation rather than be the instrument of h.”

— Napoleon

407. “When your enemy is doing something wrong, do not interrupt him.”

— Napoleon

408. “The affairs of war, like the destiny of battles, as well as empires, hang upon a spiders thread.”

— Napoleon

409. “True heroism consists in rising superior to misfortune.”

— Napoleon

410. “Public opinion is the thermometer a monarch should constantly consult.”

— Napoleon

411. “God! How men of letters are stupid.”

— Napoleon

412. “When small men attempt great enterprises, they always end by reducing them to the level of their mediocrity.”

— Napoleon

413. “Character is victory organized.”

— Napoleon

414. “In war, as in politics, no evil – even if it is permissible under the rules – is excusable unless it is absolutely necessary. Everything beyond that is a crime.”

— Napoleon

415. “Man loves the marvelous. It has an irresistible charm for him. He is always ready to leave that with which he is familiar to pursue vain inventions. He lends himself to his own deception.”

— Napoleon

416. “When I want any, good head work done; I always choose a man, if possible with a long nose.”

— Napoleon

417. “God has decreed that there be sick and poor in this world, but in the next it will be the other way around.”

— Napoleon

418. “We live and die in the midst of marvels.”

— Napoleon

419. “There are certain things in war of which the commander alone comprehends the importance. Nothing but his superior firmness and ability can subdue and surmount all difficulties.”

— Napoleon

420. “Flatterers and men of learning do not accord well with each other.”

— Napoleon

421. “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.”

— Napoleon

422. “A well-composed song strikes the mind and softens the feelings, and produces a greater effect than a moral work, which convinces our reason, but does not warm our feelings, nor effect the slightest alteration in our habits.”

— Napoleon

423. “Reprisals are but a sad resource.”

— Napoleon

424. “Jesus Chris was more than man.”

— Napoleon

425. “Let the path be open to talent.”

— Napoleon

426. “I do not amuse myself by thinking of dead people.”

— Napoleon

427. “It is in times of difficulty that great nations like great men display the whole energy of their character and become an object of admiration to posterity.”

— Napoleon

428. “A true master of politics is able to calculate, down to the smallest fraction, the advantages to which he may put his very faults.”

— Napoleon

429. “Great men are never cruel without necessity.”

— Napoleon

430. “To negotiate is not to do as one likes.”

— Napoleon

431. “There are in Europe many good generals, but they see too many things at once. I see one thing, namely the enemy’s main body. I try to crush it, confident that secondary matters will then settle themselves.”

— Napoleon

432. “To command, you must first of all speak to the eyes.”

— Napoleon

433. “The public spirit is in the hands of the man who knows how to make use of it.”

— Napoleon

434. “Vengeance is without foresight.”

— Napoleon

435. “Large legislative bodies resolve themselves into coteries, and coteries into jealousies.”

— Napoleon

436. “I want the whole of Europe to have one currency; it will make trading much easier.”

— Napoleon

437. “Die young, and I shall accept your death-but not if you have lived without glory, without being useful to your country, without leaving a trace of your existence: for that is not to have lived at all.”

— Napoleon

438. “The Bible is no mere book, but a Living Creature, with a power that conquers all that oppose it.”

— Napoleon

439. “Until then, mio dolce amor, a thousand kisses; but give me none in return, for they set my blood on fire.”

— Napoleon

440. “One bad general is worth two good ones.”

— Napoleon

441. “A man like me troubles himself little about a million men.”

— Napoleon

442. “Immortality is the best recollection one leaves.”

— Napoleon

443. “After making a mistake or suffering a misfortune, the man of genius always gets back on his feet.”

— Napoleon

444. “I know men; and I tell you that Jesus Christ is not a man. Superficial minds see a resemblance between Christ and the founders of empires, and the gods of other religions. That resemblance does not exist. There is between Christianity and whatever other religions the distance of infinity...”

— Napoleon

445. “Nothing makes the future look so rosy as to contemplate it through a glass of Chambertin.”

— Napoleon

446. “A beautiful woman like eyes, and a good heart; One is a beautiful thing, and other treasures.”

— Napoleon

447. “I have seen only yoU, I have admired only yoU, I desire only You.”

— Napoleon

448. “This accession of territory affirms forever the power of the United States, and I have given England a maritime rival who sooner or later will humble her pride.”

— Napoleon

449. “My star was fading, I felt the reins slipping out of my grasp, and could do nothing to stop it.”

— Napoleon

450. “Europe is a molehill. All great empires and revolutions have been on the Orient; six hundred millions live there.”

— Napoleon