I generally had to give in.
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.
Go Sir, gallop and don’t forget that the world was made in six days. You can ask me for anything but not time.
Treason is a matter of dates.
The purely defensive is doomed to defeat.
Men are ruled by toys.
Christ alone has succeeded in so raising the mind of man towards the unseen that it become insensible to the barriers of time and space.
It is exceptional and difficult to find in one man all the qualities necessary for a great general.
It is not set speeches at the moment of battle that render soldiers brave.
It is with artillery that war is made.
Wisdom and policy dictate that we must do as destiny demands and keep peace with the irresistible march of events.
Conquests will come and go but Delambre’s work will endure.
It is cowardice to commit suicide.
The true wealth of a state consists in the number of its inhabitants, in their toil and industry.
In war, character and opinion make more than half of the reality.
In politics nothing is immutable. Events carry within them an invincible power.
The great difficulty with politics is, that there are no established principles.
If I had not been defeated in Acre against Jezzar Pasha of Turk. I would conquer all of the East.
I pay attention only to what people do or say. I never pay attention to what they think.
Prussia was hatched from a cannon-ball.