"A king is sometimes obliged to commit crimes; but they are the crimes of his position."

Napoleon I of France Politics See all quotes by Napoleon I of France →

React to this quote

More by Napoleon I of France

“A constitution should be framed so as not to impede the action of government, nor force the government to its violation.”

“Obedience to public authority ought not to be based either on ignorance or stupidity.”

“The superior man is never in anyone's way.”

“Tristan is very idle. He confessed to the Emperor that he did not work every day. "Do you not eat every day?" said the Emperor to him; "Yes, Sire." "Well, then, you ought to work every day; no one should eat who does not work." "Oh! if that be the case, I will work every day," said the child, quickly. "Such is the influence of the belly," said the Emperor, tapping that of little Tristan. "It is hunger that makes the world move.”

“Never march by flank in front of an army in position. This principle is absolute.”

“England will repent of bringing the Russians so far: they will deprive her of India.”

Resonant Thoughts

"I find sometimes it's easy to be myself, sometimes I find it's better to be somebody else."

— Dave Matthews

Music1967

#time

"The black fist is a meaningless symbol. When you open it, you have nothing but fingers — weak, empty fingers. The only time the black fist has significance is when there's money inside. There's where …"

— Jesse Owens

Sports1913–1980

#time

"The test of an intelligence officer is not so much the ability to accumulate information; it's to judge between different pieces of information, and not to take a piece of information and use it in a …"

— Michael Scheuer

Education1952

#time

"There's been a revolution in the fields of anthropology and archaeology over the past thirty years, and increasingly people are coming to understand that life before agriculture and domestication — of…"

— John Zerzan

hunter-gatherer1943

#time