Forethought we may have, undoubtedly, but not foresight.
Napoleon Bonaparte

Four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets.
Napoleon Bonaparte

France has more need of me than I have need of France.
Napoleon Bonaparte

From the heights of these pyramids, forty centuries look down on us.
Napoleon Bonaparte

Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever.
Napoleon Bonaparte

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.
Napoleon Bonaparte

He who fears being conquered is sure of defeat.
Napoleon Bonaparte

He who knows how to flatter also knows how to slander.
Napoleon Bonaparte

History is a set of lies agreed upon.
Napoleon Bonaparte

History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon.
Napoleon Bonaparte

I am sometimes a fox and sometimes a lion. The whole secret of government lies in knowing when to be the one or the other.
Napoleon Bonaparte

I am the successor, not of Louis XVI, but of Charlemagne.
Napoleon Bonaparte

I can no longer obey; I have tasted command, and I cannot give it up.
Napoleon Bonaparte

I have only one counsel for you - be master.
Napoleon Bonaparte

I love power. But it is as an artist that I love it. I love it as a musician loves his violin, to draw out its sounds and chords and harmonies.
Napoleon Bonaparte

I made all my generals out of mud.
Napoleon Bonaparte

If I had to choose a religion, the sun as the universal giver of life would be my god.
Napoleon Bonaparte

If they want peace, nations should avoid the pin-pricks that precede cannon shots.
Napoleon Bonaparte

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

If you wish to be a success in the world, promise everything, deliver nothing.
Napoleon Bonaparte