"The first virtue in a soldier is endurance of fatigue courage is only the second virtue."

"It requires more courage to suffer than to die."

"The army is the true nobility of our country."

"Riches do not consist in the possession of treasures but in the use made of them."

"A Constitution should be short and obscure."

"How many really capable men are children more than once during the day?"

"War is the business of barbarians."

"The greatest general is he who makes the fewest mistakes."

"If they want peace, nations should avoid the pin-pricks that precede cannon shots."

"Ambition never is in a greater hurry that I; it merely keeps pace with circumstances and with my general way of thinking."

"Always carry champagne! In victory You deserve it & in defeat You need it!"

"Nothing is more difficult and therefore more precious than to be able to decide."

"My downfall raises me to infinite heights."

"You must not fear death, my lads; defy him, and you drive him into the enemy's ranks."

"Ability is nothing without opportunity."

"Ability is of little account without opportunity."

"Men take only their needs into consideration - never their abilities."

"Power is my mistress. I have worked too hard at her conquest to allow anyone to take her away from me."

"There is one kind of robber whom the law does not strike at, and who steals what is most precious to men: time."

"There are only two forces that unite men - fear and interest."

"You must not fight too often with one enemy, or you will teach him all your art of war."

"Music is what tell us that the human race is greater than we realize."

"There is no place in a fanatic's head where reason can enter."

"Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever."

"Time is one kind of robber whom the law does not strike at and who steals what is most precious to men."

"We must laugh at man to avoid crying for him."

"A man cannot become an atheist merely by wishing it."

"The hand that gives is among the hand that takes. Money has no fatherland, financiers are without patriotism and without decency, their sole object is gain."

"I often asked Laplace what he thought of God. He owned that he was an atheist."

"There are only two forces in the world, the sword and the spirit. In the long run the sword will always be conquered by the spirit."

"He who fears being conquered is sure of defeat."

"The herd seek out the great, not for their sake but for their influence; and the great welcome them out of vanity or need."

"If they want peace nations should avoid the pinpricks that precede cannon shots."

"I am surrounded by priests who repeat incessantly that their kingdom is not of this world, and yet they lay hands on everything they can get."

"Doctors will have more lives to answer for in the next world than even we generals."

"France has more need of me than I have need of France."

"Men are more easily governed through their vices than through their virtues."

"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."

"The heart of a statesman should be in his head."

"In order to govern, the question is not to follow out a more or less valid theory but to build with whatever materials are at hand. The inevitable must be accepted and turned to advantage."