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Napoleon
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Proverbs, aphorisms, quotations (English) by Linux fortune

"Open Channel D..."
-- Napoleon Solo, The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
"It follows that any commander in chief who undertakes to carry out a plan
which he considers defective is at fault; he must put forth his reasons,
insist of the plan being changed, and finally tender his resignation rather
than be the instrument of his army's downfall."
-- Napoleon, "Military Maxims and Thought"
Gentlemen,
        Whilst marching from Portugal to a position which commands the
approach to Madrid and the French forces, my officers have been
diligently complying with your requests which have been sent by H.M. ship
from London to Lisbon and thence by dispatch to our headquarters.
        We have enumerated our saddles, bridles, tents and tent poles,
and all manner of sundry items for which His Majesty's Government holds
me accountable. I have dispatched reports on the character, wit, and
spleen of every officer. Each item and every farthing has been accounted
for, with two regrettable exceptions for which I beg your indulgence.
        Unfortunately the sum of one shilling and ninepence remains
unaccounted for in one infantry battalion's petty cash and there has been
a hideous confusion as the the number of jars of raspberry jam issued to
one cavalry regiment during a sandstorm in western Spain.  This
reprehensible carelessness may be related to the pressure of circumstance,
since we are war with France, a fact which may come as a bit of a surprise
to you gentlemen in Whitehall.
        This brings me to my present purpose, which is to request
elucidation of my instructions from His Majesty's Government so that I
may better understand why I am dragging an army over these barren plains.
I construe that perforce it must be one of two alternative duties, as
given below.  I shall pursue either one with the best of my ability, but
I cannot do both:
        1. To train an army of uniformed British clerks in Spain for the
benefit of the accountants and copy-boys in London or perchance:
        2. To see to it that the forces of Napoleon are driven out of Spain.
                -- Duke of Wellington, to the British Foreign Office,
                   London, 1812
"Give me enough medals, and I'll win any war."
                -- Napoleon
History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree on.
                -- Napoleon Bonaparte, "Maxims"
In war it is not men, but the man who counts.
                -- Napoleon
It follows that any commander in chief who undertakes to carry out a plan
which he considers defective is at fault; he must put forth his reasons,
insist of the plan being changed, and finally tender his resignation rather
than be the instrument of his army's downfall.
                -- Napoleon, "Military Maxims and Thought"
NAPOLEON: What shall we do with this soldier, Giuseppe?  Everything he
          says is wrong.
GIUSEPPE: Make him a general, Excellency, and then everything he says
          will be right.
                -- G. B. Shaw, "The Man of Destiny"
Neglect of duty does not cease, by repetition, to be neglect of duty.
                -- Napoleon
Put a rogue in the limelight and he will act like an honest man.
                -- Napoleon Bonaparte, "Maxims"
Ten persons who speak make more noise than ten thousand who are silent.
                -- Napoleon I
One of the signs of Napoleon's greatness is the fact that he once had a
publisher shot.
                -- Siegfried Unseld
Men take only their needs into consideration -- never their abilities.
                -- Napoleon Bonaparte
No guarantee of accuracy or completeness!
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