Napoleon I of France - General Quotes

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It is often in the audacity, in the steadfastness, of the general that the safety and the conservation of his men is found.

Napoleon I of France
Men have their virtues and their vices, their heroisms and their perversities; men are neither wholly good nor wholly bad, but possess and practice all that there is of good and bad here below. Such is the general rule. Temperament, education, the accidents of life, are modifying factors. Outside of this, everything is ordered arrangement, everything is chance. Such has been my rule of expectation and it has usually brought me success.

Napoleon I of France
In war, theory is all right so far as general principles are concerned; but in reducing general principles to practice there will always be danger. Theory and practice are the axis about which the sphere of accomplishment revolves.

Napoleon I of France
When one seeks the cause of the successes of great generals, one is astonished to find that they did everything necessary to insure them.

Napoleon I of France
Unhappy the general who comes on the field of battle with a system.

Napoleon I of France
The general of the sea has need of only one science, that of navigation. The one on land has need of all, or of a talent which is the equivalent of all, that will enable him to profit by all experience, and all knowledge. A general of the sea has nothing to divine. He knows where his enemy is, he knows his strength. A general on land never knows anything with certainty, never sees his enemy well, and never knows positively where he is.

Napoleon I of France
All generals, officers, and soldiers who capitulate in battle to save their own lives should be decimated.

Napoleon I of France
I tell you Wellington is a bad general, the English are bad soldiers; we will settle this matter by lunch time.

Napoleon I of France
A victorious general must know how to employ severity, justness, and mildness by turns, if he would allay sedition or prevent it.

Napoleon I of France
In my opinion physicians kill as many people as we generals.

Napoleon I of France