There are only two powers in the world – the power of the sword and the spirit…In the long run, the sword is always beaten by the spirit.
How can there be a state without any religion? Society cannot exist without inequality of fortune, and inequality of fortune cannot exist without religion
In Spinoza, each thought is a step to another thought; in Napoleon, each thought is a step to an action
Luck is the ability to exploit accidents. A series of great actions is never the result of chance and luck, always the product of planning and genius
Work, I was built for work. I have known the limitations of my legs, I have known the limitations of my eyes, I have never known the limitations of my working capacity
Tirelessness, concentration, and speed – these were the characteristics of his mechanism
Destiny is carried out, fate is suffered
I am a poet in action
I was sure of being understood by the last drummer boy
Each looks through his own prism, which often misleads him
There is little merit in copying or imitating
Silence often produces the same effect as wisdom
I start out by believing the worst
One must have the will to live and be willing to die
I had few really definite ideas, and the reason for this was that, instead of obstinately seeking to control circumstances, I obeyed them, and they forced me to change my mind all the time. Thus it happened that most of the time, to tell the truth, I had no definite plans but only projects
He who fears to lose his reputation is sure to lose it
When custom and reason are at odds, custom always wins out
One should never attempt to forbid what one lacks the power to prevent
Absolute power has no need to lie: it is silent. Responsible government, on the other hand, being obliged to speak, dissimulates and lies shamelessly
This famous division of labor, which in our age has brought mechanical pursuits to perfection, is absolutely fatal to the perfection of intellectual production. The quality of a production of the mind is in direct ratio to the universality of its creator
My policies are frank and open, because they are the results of long meditations of strength
Great men are never cruel without necessity
You must know that I am not in the least afraid of committing an act of cowardice if it were useful to me
A true man never hates. A man made for public life and authority never takes account of personalities; he only takes account of things, of their weight and of their consequences
Force is the law of animals; men are ruled by conviction
Men who have changed the world never achieved their success by winning the chief citizens to their side, but always by stirring the masses
Between meditating an action and carrying it out, you must put an interval of 3 years
The great art of governing consists in not letting men grow old in their jobs
The art of choosing men is not nearly so difficult as the art of enabling those one has chosen to attain their full worth
The art consists in making others work rather than in wearing oneself out
When an enemy army is in flight, you must either build a golden bridge for it or stop it with a wall of steel
My great and most distinctive talent is to see everything in a clear light
Greatness has its beauties, but only in retrospect and in the imagination
I had a taste for founding, not for owning
Masses
Liberty is a need felt by a small class of people whom nature has endowed with nobler minds than the mass of men. Consequently, it may be repressed with impunity. Equality, on the other hand, pleases the masses.
What is a theory? Mere nonsense if you want to apply it to human masses
I always went along with the opinion of the masses and with events. I always paid little attention to individual opinions and a great deal to public opinion
Men who have changed the world never achieved their success by winning the chief citizens to their side, but always by stirring the masses