Consulting the Archives...
Generating fresh insights specifically for this topic.
This may take a moment.
Generating fresh insights specifically for this topic.
This may take a moment.
Rising from a minor noble family on the island of Corsica to become the Emperor of the French, Napoleon Bonaparte remains history's ultimate archetype of the self-made man and the military genius. As a product of the French Revolution, he capitalized on the power vacuum of the late 18th century, utilizing unprecedented speed, logistical precision, and artillery concentration to defeat the established monarchies of Europe. He was not merely a conqueror but an administrative architect; he established the Napoleonic Code, which replaced a patchwork of contradictory feudal customs with a unified legal system that prioritized property rights, religious toleration, and equality before the law.
Emperor of the French · Military Commander
Napoleon Bonaparte was a Corsican-born military strategist and Emperor of the French who redefined Western history through conquest, administrative centralization, and legal reform. Rising from the chaos of the French Revolution, he leveraged his genius for artillery, rapid troop movement, and psychological warfare to dismantle the Holy Roman Empire and dominate Europe. Beyond the battlefield, his most enduring legacy is the Napoleonic Code, which established equality before the law, secularized the state, and institutionalized meritocracy over feudal privilege. A figure of immense contradiction, he was both an enlightened modernizer who spread liberal ideals and an authoritarian dictator who suppressed dissent. His philosophy centered on "destiny," the necessity of strong executive power, and the belief that ability should trump nobility. His final exile to Saint Helena produced memoirs that cemented his legend, portraying him as a martyr for liberty against monarchical reactionaries.
Featured highlights
"The hand that gives is above the hand that takes. (La main qui donne est au-dessus de celle qui reçoit.) Italian saying, quoted by Bonaparte during the first Italian campaign to highlight the financial dependence of the Directoire on the plunder from the Army of Italy, according to Lucian S. Regenbogen, Napoléon a dit: aphorismes, citations et opinions, p. 82."
"Je n'ai point usurpĂ© la couronne: je l'ai relevĂ©e dans le ruisseau. Le peuple l'a mise sur ma tĂȘte. Je voulais que le titre de Français fut le plus beau, le plus dĂ©sirable de la terre. J'Ă©tais enfin le roi du peuple, comme les Bourbons sont les rois des nobles"
"Mahomet was a great man, an intrepid soldier; with a handful of men he triumphed at the battle of Bender [sic]; a great captain, eloquent, a great man of state, he revived his fatherland and created a new people and a new power in the middle of Arabia. Napoleon I of France in Précis des guerres de César, Gosselin, 1836, edited by Comte Marchand, p. 237. This work was written by Napoleon during his exile on St. Helena. Translated by Ziad Elmarsafy in The Enlightenment Qur'an."
"It is not enough to be a great man; one must also be born at the right time."
"Imagination governs the world."
Website: Wikiquote - Napoleon Bonaparte (Napoleon : In His Own Words (1916))
"Waterloo will wipe out the memory of my forty victories; but that which nothing can wipe out is my Civil Code. That will live forever. As quoted in The Story of World Progress (1922) by Willis Mason West, p. 437"
"On veut dĂ©truire la RĂ©volution en sâattaquant Ă ma personne: je la dĂ©fendrai, car je suis la RĂ©volution, moi, moi ⊠On y regardera Ă partir dâaujourdâhui, car on saura de quoi nous sommes capables."
Website: Wikiquote - Napoleon Bonaparte (The Consulate and The Empire (1834))
"There is nothing so imperious as feebleness which feels itself supported by force."
Website: Wikiquote - Napoleon Bonaparte (Napoleon : In His Own Words (1916))
"The fundamental principle of all war is that the forces should be concentrated at the point of attack."
"The first quality for a commander-in-chief is a cool head to receive a correct impression of things. He should not allow himself to be confused by either good or bad news."
"If you wish to be successul in the world, promise everything, deliver nothing."
"What I have done up to this is nothing. I am only at the beginning of the course I must run. Do you imagine that I triumph in Italy in order to aggrandise the pack of lawyers who form the Directory, and men like Carnot and Barras? What an idea! As quoted in Memoirs of Count Miot de Melito (1788 - 1815) as translated by Frances Cashel Hoey and John Lillie (1881), Vol. II, p. 94"
"If I had to choose a religion, the sun as the universal giver of life would be my god."
"Wealth is only useful when it is used to increase the power of the nation."
"The bullet that will kill me is not yet cast. Statement at Montereau (17 February 1814) [specific citation needed]"
"True character stands the test of emergencies. Do not be mistaken, it is weakness from which the awakening is rude."
Website: Wikiquote - Napoleon Bonaparte (Napoleon : In His Own Words (1916))
"The true conquests, the only ones that cause no regret, are those made over ignorance. (November 26, 1797) as quoted in Andrew Roberts Napoleon: A Life p. 157"
"The letter says: "Ce n'est pas possible", m'ecrivez-vous: cela n'est pas français.Original Source"
"Maximes et pensées de Napoléon recueillies par J.-L. Gaudy jeune (1838), Pg 49"
Website: Wikiquote - Napoleon Bonaparte (Napoleon : In His Own Words (1916))
"Success is the most convincing talker in the world."
"Unite for the public safety, if you would remain an independent nation. Proclamation to the French People (22 June 1815)"
"Aristocracy is the spirit of the Old Testament, democracy of the New."
Website: Wikiquote - Napoleon Bonaparte (Napoleon : In His Own Words (1916))
"Ambition is the mainspring of a man."
"Leave the Artillerymen alone, they are an obstinate lot. As quoted in The Dictionary of Military and Naval Quotations (1966) by Robert Heinl, Jr."
"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. Reported as being from an 1817 conversation in The Mind of Napoleon, ed. and trans. J. Christopher Herold (1955), p. 249. Reported as unverified in Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations (1989)."
"A form of government that is not the result of a long sequence of shared experiences, efforts, and endeavors can never take root. Statement (1803) as quoted in The Mind of Napoleon (1955) by J. Christopher Herold"
"A congress of the powers is deceit agreed on between diplomats â it is the pen of Machiavelli combined with the scimitar of Mahomet."
Website: Wikiquote - Napoleon Bonaparte (Napoleon : In His Own Words (1916))
"If I had succeeded, I would have been the greatest man known to history. As quoted in The Tyrants: 2500 Years of Absolute Power and Corruption (2006) by Clive Foss ISBN 1905204965"
"An army marches on its stomach."
"Money has no motherland; financiers are without patriotism and without decency; their sole object is gain. Attributed in Monarchy or Money Power (1933), by R. McNair Wilson. No primary source for this is known."
"Everything in war is a matter of time."
"Unskilled hands should not handle the tools of execution."
"France is invaded; I am leaving to take command of my troops, and, with God's help and their valor, I hope soon to drive the enemy beyond the frontier. Statement at Paris (23 January 1814) [specific citation needed]"
"War is a lottery in which nations ought to risk nothing but small amounts."
Website: Wikiquote - Napoleon Bonaparte (Napoleon : In His Own Words (1916))
"A King should sacrifice the best affections of his heart for the good of his country; no sacrifice should be above his determination."
Website: Wikiquote - Napoleon Bonaparte (Political Aphorisms, Moral and Philosophical Thoughts (1848))
Quick answers about Napoleon Bonaparte.
Napoleon Bonaparte's specific contribution lies in the 'Napoleonic Settlement,' which synthesized the liberal gains of the Revolution with the stability of strong authority. His implementation of the Civil Code provided a logical, written framework for law that permanently dismantled feudal privileges and influenced civil law systems from Louisiana to Japan.
Modern leaders can apply Napoleon's concept of the 'coup d'Ćil'âthe ability to instantly assess a chaotic situation and identify the decisive pointâto complex business strategies or crisis management. His insistence on meritocracy and logistics teaches that organizational success depends on promoting talent regardless of background and ensuring that execution is supported by robust preparation.
Search More
Jump to another topic, author, or pillar without leaving the archive.
"Napoleon proves that a single will, driven by ambition and intellect, can reshape history, leaving a legacy carved not just in stone monuments, but in the very laws that govern modern society."