“That is just it, work is my element; I was born and made for it. I have found the limits of my legs; I have found the limits of my eyes; but I have never been able to find the limits of my labour.”
Napoleon Bonaparte
The Memorial of Saint Helena (Secondary source)
The Memorial of Saint Helena is a detailed account by Emmanuel de Las Cases of Napoleon Bonaparte’s reflections, conversations, and recollections during his exile on Saint Helena (1815-1816). Blending memoir, dialogue, and political philosophy, it offers an intimate portrait of Napoleon’s mind and became one of the most influential Napoleonic testimonies.
More about “The Memorial of Saint Helena” →
“At dinner, he told us that he was much better, and we pointed out to him, about this, that, for some time however, he had not been out, and had been working eight, ten, or twelve hours a day. That is just it, said he: work is my element; I was born and made for it. I have found the limits of my legs; I have found the limits of my eyes; but I have never been able to find the limits of my labour.”
Napoleon Bonaparte
“Everything tells me I shall succeed.”
— Napoleon Bonaparte Primary source“Imagination rules the world.”
— Napoleon Bonaparte Secondary source“Intelligence precedes force. Force itself is nothing without intelligence. In the heroic age the leader was the strongest man; with civilization he has become the most intelligent of the brave.”
— Napoleon Bonaparte Disputed“There is a joy in danger.”
— Napoleon Bonaparte DisputedMore quotes by Napoleon Bonaparte →
“There was never a good knife made of bad steel.”
— Benjamin Franklin Primary source“He that never eats too much, will never be lazy.”
— Benjamin Franklin Primary source“I am drunk, seest thou? When I am not drunk I do not talk. You have never heard me talk much. But an intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend his time with fools.”
— Ernest Hemingway Primary source“Necessity never made a good bargain.”
— Benjamin Franklin Primary source