What do you think?
Rate this book
Aphorisms and Thoughts
Spurred by a lifelong fascination with the great emperor, French novelist Honore de Balzac set himself the pains-taking task of collecting a selection of Napoleon's aphorisms from his public speeches and the gazettes of the time.
Arranged into four themes (covering social life, the military arts, the exercise of power and the teachings of experience and misfortune), Napoleon's pithy pills of wisdom - often Machiavellian, cynical, dry and sometimes cruel - offer a unique insight into the mind of a man who prided himself on preferring action over thought and the sword over the pen, and conjure up one of the most eminent and influential historical figures of all time.
Arranged into four themes (covering social life, the military arts, the exercise of power and the teachings of experience and misfortune), Napoleon's pithy pills of wisdom - often Machiavellian, cynical, dry and sometimes cruel - offer a unique insight into the mind of a man who prided himself on preferring action over thought and the sword over the pen, and conjure up one of the most eminent and influential historical figures of all time.
109 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1838
14 people are currently reading
250 people want to read
About the author
Napoléon Bonaparte
1,533 books523 followersNapoleon I, originally Napoleon Bonaparte and known as "the Little Corporal," a brilliant strategist, overthrew the directory in 1799 and proclaimed first consul and later emperor of the French and king of Italy from 1804; his military and political might gripped Continental Europe, but after a disastrous campaign in Russia in winter 1812, people forced him to abdicate in 1814 and exiled him to the island of Elba, whither he escaped and briefly regained power before they ultimately defeated him at Waterloo in 1815 and he lived on Saint Helena, yet his code still forms the basis of civil law.
Josephine de Beauharnais wed Napoleon I Bonaparte in 1796 and from 1804 served as wife and empress of the French to 1809; her alleged infertility caused annulment of the marriage in 1810.
Near Austerlitz on 2 December 1805, Napoleon decisively defeated the armies of Alexander I, czar of Russia, and of Francis II, emperor of Austria.
Napoleon I Bonaparte later adopted French soldier and statesman Eugène de Beauharnais, son of Josephine, as viceroy and then heir apparent to the throne of Italy in 1806.
A mother bore Charles Louis Napoleon III Bonaparte, a nephew of Napoleon I Bonaparte, in 1808.
Trained in mainland as an artillery officer, he rose to prominence as a general of the revolution and led several successes against the arrayed coalitions. In late 1799, Napoleon staged a coup d'état and installed for five years. In the decade of the 19th century, he turned the armies and dominated almost everyone through extensive alliance systems and a lengthy streak of major victories, epitomized through battles, such as Austerlitz and Friedland. He appointed close friends and several members of his family as monarchs and important government figures of dominated states.
Napoleon developed relatively few innovations, although virtually all large modern armies accept his doctrines that placed artillery into batteries and elevated the corps as the standard unit. From a variety of sources, he drew his best tactics, and he scored several major victories with a modernized army. Academies over the world study this widely regarded greatest commander of history. Aside from achievements, people also remember Napoleon for the establishment that laid the bureaucratic foundations for the modern state.
This leader significantly affected modern history. He, a general during the revolution, ruled as premier of the republic, mediator of the Swiss confederation, and protector of the confederation of the Rhine.
The invasion marked a turning point in fortunes of Napoleon. The wrecked grand army never recovered its previous strength. In October 1813, the sixth coalition at Leipzig then invaded. The coalition triumphed over Napoleon in April 1814. After less than a year, he returned and controlled the government in the hundred days prior to his final demise on 18 June 1815. Napoleon spent the six years under British supervision.
Josephine de Beauharnais wed Napoleon I Bonaparte in 1796 and from 1804 served as wife and empress of the French to 1809; her alleged infertility caused annulment of the marriage in 1810.
Near Austerlitz on 2 December 1805, Napoleon decisively defeated the armies of Alexander I, czar of Russia, and of Francis II, emperor of Austria.
Napoleon I Bonaparte later adopted French soldier and statesman Eugène de Beauharnais, son of Josephine, as viceroy and then heir apparent to the throne of Italy in 1806.
A mother bore Charles Louis Napoleon III Bonaparte, a nephew of Napoleon I Bonaparte, in 1808.
Trained in mainland as an artillery officer, he rose to prominence as a general of the revolution and led several successes against the arrayed coalitions. In late 1799, Napoleon staged a coup d'état and installed for five years. In the decade of the 19th century, he turned the armies and dominated almost everyone through extensive alliance systems and a lengthy streak of major victories, epitomized through battles, such as Austerlitz and Friedland. He appointed close friends and several members of his family as monarchs and important government figures of dominated states.
Napoleon developed relatively few innovations, although virtually all large modern armies accept his doctrines that placed artillery into batteries and elevated the corps as the standard unit. From a variety of sources, he drew his best tactics, and he scored several major victories with a modernized army. Academies over the world study this widely regarded greatest commander of history. Aside from achievements, people also remember Napoleon for the establishment that laid the bureaucratic foundations for the modern state.
This leader significantly affected modern history. He, a general during the revolution, ruled as premier of the republic, mediator of the Swiss confederation, and protector of the confederation of the Rhine.
The invasion marked a turning point in fortunes of Napoleon. The wrecked grand army never recovered its previous strength. In October 1813, the sixth coalition at Leipzig then invaded. The coalition triumphed over Napoleon in April 1814. After less than a year, he returned and controlled the government in the hundred days prior to his final demise on 18 June 1815. Napoleon spent the six years under British supervision.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 25, 2018
Compiled by Honore de Balzac, one wonders how carefully.
Not very good, mostly. He's obviously truly independent - e.g. there's praise for Muhammad here, lots of fearless anticlerical scepticism, lots of examination of despots.
He's not coherent at all - he's both an anti-intellectual "man of action" and a shiny-eyed Enlightenment rationalist; Machiavellian bastard and Aristotelian virtue-seeker; imperial elitist and populist revolutionary. Consider: Napoleon caused the deaths of between 3 and 7 million people (i.e. 0.5% of every person alive at the time), imposing significant effects on almost the entire world - and he's a very average writer. Read him next to Nietzsche, who plausibly never harmed anyone in his entire life, but whose writing stills scorches and stuns us. (This gets better when we remember that Nietzsche considered Napoleon one of a handful of people who have been truly 'great'.) Charitable reading: We happen to have caught up with Napoleon's thoughts, but not with Nietzsche's.
Some good lines that don't depend on their speaker being extraordinary for impact:
Not very good, mostly. He's obviously truly independent - e.g. there's praise for Muhammad here, lots of fearless anticlerical scepticism, lots of examination of despots.
He's not coherent at all - he's both an anti-intellectual "man of action" and a shiny-eyed Enlightenment rationalist; Machiavellian bastard and Aristotelian virtue-seeker; imperial elitist and populist revolutionary. Consider: Napoleon caused the deaths of between 3 and 7 million people (i.e. 0.5% of every person alive at the time), imposing significant effects on almost the entire world - and he's a very average writer. Read him next to Nietzsche, who plausibly never harmed anyone in his entire life, but whose writing stills scorches and stuns us. (This gets better when we remember that Nietzsche considered Napoleon one of a handful of people who have been truly 'great'.) Charitable reading: We happen to have caught up with Napoleon's thoughts, but not with Nietzsche's.
Some good lines that don't depend on their speaker being extraordinary for impact:
You never climb that high unless you do not know where you are going.
Politics - which cannot be moral - is that which must make morality triumph.
Superstition is the legacy left by one century's clever people to the fools of the next...
April 15, 2024
De acordo com o próprio, Napoleão repudiava a idealização e a intelectualização.
Apesar disso, foi escrevendo as suas máximas. Estas são marcadamente idealizadas, mesmo que baseadas também num forte sentido prático e numa experiência de vida única. A filosofia de Napoleão de ação e do governo da guerra e da vontade do povo aparece, a espaços, bem explicitamente no texto.
Foi Balzac quem reuniu os textos do livro. Para Balzac, Napoleão foi uma das maiores vontades de sempre.
Não ganha pelo poder literário.
Apesar disso, foi escrevendo as suas máximas. Estas são marcadamente idealizadas, mesmo que baseadas também num forte sentido prático e numa experiência de vida única. A filosofia de Napoleão de ação e do governo da guerra e da vontade do povo aparece, a espaços, bem explicitamente no texto.
Foi Balzac quem reuniu os textos do livro. Para Balzac, Napoleão foi uma das maiores vontades de sempre.
Não ganha pelo poder literário.
September 28, 2020
Lo mejor del libro es que es Balzac quien hace la antología. Fin.
November 1, 2023
Short read with quotes and thoughts from Napolean Bonaparte. Worth reading, better than I thought it would be. Here are a few that I really liked:
Every hour of time wasted during youth creates a chance for future misfortune.
A great reputation is a great noise; the more you make, the more it spreads: laws, nations, monuments – everything crumbles; but the noise remains.
Misfortune is the midwife of genius.
The way to be believed is to make truth unbelievable.
Every hour of time wasted during youth creates a chance for future misfortune.
A great reputation is a great noise; the more you make, the more it spreads: laws, nations, monuments – everything crumbles; but the noise remains.
Misfortune is the midwife of genius.
The way to be believed is to make truth unbelievable.
July 26, 2020
"Nothing which degrades man is useful for long."
"It is easier to deceive than to undeceive."
"The best way to keep your word is never to give it."
"Every hour of time wasted during youth creates a chance for future misfortune."
"It is easier to deceive than to undeceive."
"The best way to keep your word is never to give it."
"Every hour of time wasted during youth creates a chance for future misfortune."
December 8, 2022
A good collection of thoughts of the greatest frenchman. Many of his thoughts are timeless and always actual.
September 22, 2025
Not exactly a deep philosopher (for good reason). Not a lot that I don’t already know or have thought about.
October 12, 2024
Difícil de seguir
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews