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.