Being Corsican and all, I cannot help but have a penchant for Napoleon Bonaparte, our illustrious compatriot. So, for the sake of a quick and easy blog entry, to smoothen the pot and refresh my memory, here are a few fresh quotes attributed to my illustrious Corsican compatriot(CC for short)….
What you may not also know is that Napoleon at the core, was a Corsican, and by that I mean that if you have grown up in that culture, the following quotes resonate a little more deeply because each have a Corsican folk tale equivalent; a mountain wisdom I am always reminded of everytime I spend time with my 96 years old grandmother.
These quotes are not the quotes of a single military and political genius but the work of a culture…..at the end of the day Napoleon was a true product of “The Enlightenment” and of Corsica…. I get this sinking feeling that generations of post Napoleonic thinkers have borrowed heavily from him and my grandmother….
Bonaparte:
” In politics stupidity is not a handicap.”
” A leader is a dealer in hope.”
” 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 you wish to be a success in the world, promise everything, deliver nothing.”
” In politics… never retreat, never retract… never admit a mistake.”
” A man will fight harder for his interests than for his rights.”
” If I had to choose a religion, the sun as the universal giver of life would be my god. ”
” The best cure for the body is a quiet mind.”
” A revolution is an idea which has found its bayonets. ”
” Death is nothing, but to live defeated and inglorious is to die daily.”
” Doctors will have more lives to answer for in the next world than even we generals. ”
” If they want peace, nations should avoid the pin-pricks that precede cannon shots.”
” The surest way to remain poor is to be an honest man. ”
” England is a nation of shopkeepers. ”
” The French complain of everything, and always. ”
” Impossible is a word to be found only in the dictionary of fools. ”
” Four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets. ”
” Men are more easily governed through their vices than through their virtues. ”
” Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever. ”
” Music is the voice that tells us that the human race is greater than it knows. ”
” Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.”
” Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence. ”
” Public opinion is the thermometer a monarch should constantly consult. ”
” He who knows how to flatter also knows how to slander. ”
” History is a set of lies agreed upon. ”
” Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide. ”
” Religion is excellent stuff for keeping common people quiet. ”
” Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich. ”
” We must laugh at man to avoid crying for him. ”
” When small men attempt great enterprises, they always end by reducing them to the level of their mediocrity. ”
” The human race is governed by its imagination. ”
Corsica ( I tried my best to translate these quotes but I am not very good at it, hope you get the idea. In this image my aunt Noella and my grandmother Angele):
” Seguida chi camina, è micca chi si ferma.
Follow the one who advances, not the one who stops.
” Incù l’acetu ùn si piglia mosche”
You don’t catch flies with vinegar.
” Hè l’ochju di u patrone chi ingrassa u cavallu”
The master’s eye fattens the horse.
” In bocca chjosa ùn ci entre mosca ”
There ain’t no flies in clothed mouths.
” Cane abaghja e porcu magna. ”
The dog barks, the pig eats….
” Agnellu pasquale, caprèttu in Natale. ”
Newborn lamb for Easter, goat for Christmas.
” U tèchju un créde u famitu.”
The satiated does not believe the hungry
” Vésti un bastòne, pare un baròne”
Dress up a stick, he’ll look like a Baron.
” U mórtu allarga u vivu. ”
The dead make more room for the living.
” A chi nasce sumére un diventa cavallu”
A donkey does not become a horse.
” Tantu amòre, tantu disdègnu.”
So much love, so much disdain.
” A fa a barba à i suméri si pèrde saòne e tempu”
To shave donkeys is to both waste time and money.
” A bacia t’hà l’anchi corti. ”
Lies have short legs.
” A chì mali vivi, mali mori. ”
Live poorly, die poorly.
” A chi stanta, à chi scurnochja. ”
Some work, others dream”
” A raghjoni hè verbali. ”
Reason is spoken only.
” A volpi perdi u pelu ma micca u viziu.”
The fox looses his hair but not his cunning.
” A Paura faci cacà a mula. ”
Fear makes the mule shit.
” Aceddu in cabbia S’eddu un canta d’amori Canta di rabbia”
Bird in a cage sing of love or of rage.
” Babbi e mammi tonti, figlioli astuti. ”
Crazy parents, forewarned kids.
” Hè megliu à stà accantu un cacadori Cà accantu un zuccadori. ”
Better sit next to a shitter than next to a stone cutter.
” I più beddi peri i màngnani i porchi.”
The best pears are eaten by the pigs.
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