Notes from Wikiquote
Maximes et pensées de Napoléon recueillies par J.-L. Gaudy jeune (1838), Pg 49 | "Gaudy"'s collection was actually compiled by Honoré de Balzac, who may have invented some of the maxims. Graham Robb: "Balzac" (1994), pp 317-318.
More quotes by Napoleon
I never was truly my own master but was always ruled by circumstances.
The greater the man, the less is he opinionative, he depends upon events and circumstances.
Sometimes a great example is necessary to all the public functionaries of the state.
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.