Skip to content

Surely in a matter of this kind we should endeavor to do something, that we may say that we have not lived in vain, that we may leave some impress of ourselves on the sands of time.

— Napoleon Attributed

Another quote →

Source and credibility

Wikiquote lists this as attributed to Napoleon, but no primary source has been found.

Source: From an alleged Letter of to his Minister of the Interior on the Poor Laws. Pub. in The Press, Feb. 1, 1868.
Source quality: Precise citation Points to a specific work with a page, chapter, date or similar locator, so you can look it up.

More by Napoleon

Necessity dominates inclination, will, and right.

Napoleon : In His Own Words (1916)

The great art of governing consists in not letting men grow old in their jobs.

When you have an enemy in your power, deprive him of the means of ever injuring you.

Political Aphorisms, Moral and Philosophical Thoughts (1848)

Commerce unites men and make them; therefore it is fatal to despotic power.

Orders and decorations are necessary in order to dazzle the people.

Political Aphorisms, Moral and Philosophical Thoughts (1848)

Hereditary succession to the magistracy is absurd, as it tends to make a property of it; it is incompatible with the sovereignty of the people.

Political Aphorisms, Moral and Philosophical Thoughts (1848)

In practical administration, experience is everything.

Napoleon : In His Own Words (1916)

What then is, generally speaking, the truth of history? A fable agreed upon.

All Napoleon quotes →

More quotes by Napoleon

I never was truly my own master but was always ruled by circumstances.

From the sublime to the ridiculous is but a step.

The greater the man, the less is he opinionative, he depends upon events and circumstances.

Political Aphorisms, Moral and Philosophical Thoughts (1848)

Sometimes a great example is necessary to all the public functionaries of the state.

Political Aphorisms, Moral and Philosophical Thoughts (1848)

There is only one step from the sublime to the ridiculous.

All Napoleon quotes →

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Napoleon (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.