Napoleon Bonaparte on Execution Quotes

"The first quality for a commander-in-chief is a cool head, which receives a just impression of things; he should not allow himself to be confused by either good or bad news."

"Great ambition is the passion of a great character. Those endowed with it may perform very good or very bad acts. All depends on the principles which direct them."

"The reason most people fail instead of succeed is they trade what they want most for what they want at the moment."

"It is not enough to be a great man; one must also be born at the right time."

"The strong man is the one who is able to intercept at will the communication between the senses and the mind."

"In politics, stupidity is not a handicap."

"The crowd which follows me with admiration, would run with the same eagerness were I marching to the Guillotine."

"One should never forbid what one lacks the power to prevent."

"Space we can recover, time never."

"Unskilled hands should not handle the tools of execution."

"Orders and moves must be the result of a single thought."

"Everything on earth is soon forgotten, except the opinion we leave printed on history."

"The best way to keep one's word is not to give it."

"Speed is everything. The strength of the army, like the momentum in mechanics, is estimated by the weight multiplied by the velocity."

"Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide."

"Victory belongs to the most persevering."

"If you want a thing done well, do it yourself."

"The man who has no aim is like a ship without a rudder."

"A leader is a dealer in hope."

"Strategy is the art of making use of time and space. I am less chary of the latter than the former. Space we can recover, lost time never."

"The art of being sometimes audacious and sometimes very prudent is the secret of success."

"A soldier will fight long and hard for a bit of colored ribbon."

"The fundamental principle of all war is that the forces should be concentrated at the point of attack."

"He who fears being conquered is certain of defeat."

"The battlefield is a scene of constant chaos. The winner will be the one who controls that chaos, both his own and the enemy's."

"Ability is of little account without opportunity."

"The secret of war lies in the communications."

"Impossible is a word to be found only in the dictionary of fools."

"The art of war is a simple art; everything is in the execution."

"To do all that one is able to do, is to be a man; to do all that one would like to do, is to be a god."

"One must change one's tactics every ten years if one wishes to maintain one's superiority."

"In war, the first thing is to be active."

"Men are moved by two levers only: fear and self-interest."