Napoleon Bonaparte

"The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing."

"A man is great by comparison with others of his own times, not by comparison with his peers in other eras."

"I had rather trust my horse than many men I know."

"Ability is of little account without opportunity."

"The torment of precaution is worse than the peril itself."

"Unfaithfulness in the keeping of an appointment is an act of clear disrespect."

"A revolution is an idea which has found its bayonets."

"Swiftness is the only good strategy when the other side is expecting you to move fast."

"Every soldier has the baton of a field marshal in his pack."

"The reason most people never reach their goals is that they don't define what they want—even more specifically, they can't even imagine having it."

"I generally had to give up all connection with the officers, and was forced to proceed alone."

"Reduced to a single expression, the art of war is to preserve our forces and destroy those of the enemy."

"One of the attributes of God is foresight. Possess it yourself and you will be like the Almighty."

"A pinch of probability is worth a pound of perhaps."

"My epitaph should be—He loved glory, liberty, and the public good."

"Religion is good, and its protection is not a matter of political prudence alone."

"A conscience free from reproach is a wall of brass."

"The extent of your patience is the length of your life."

"Luck is a lady, but I find she favors the bold and brave."

"Riches do not consist in having great possessions, but in having few wants and unlimited desires."

"Never lose sight of the object you are pursuing."

"The laws of nature are the only laws that really bind us."

"Art is the effort to convey what you feel."

"The most dangerous moment comes with victory."

"I came not to ravish but to conquer and to rule."

"Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice."

"A true man hates no one."

"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."

"The man who passes the sentence should pass the sentence only on that which he has himself experienced."

"I would rather share one lifetime with you than face all the ages of this world alone."