History is a myth that men agree to believe.
Napoleon BonaparteRead
A revolution can be neither made nor stopped. The only thing that can be done is for one of several of its children to give it a direction by dint of victories.
Interpretation
What this quote means
A revolution is an unstoppable force that can only be guided by those who lead it to success.
This quote by Napoleon Bonaparte highlights the inevitability of revolutions—they cannot be created or halted at will. Instead, the course of a revolution can be influenced by leaders who achieve victories and provide direction, suggesting that while the movement may be uncontrollable, its outcomes can be shaped by decisive actions and strong leadership.
Themes
RevolutionLeadershipChangeVictoryDirection
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech about the nature of social change and how effective leadership can impact movements.
More from Napoleon Bonaparte
All quotes →One must indeed be ignorant of the methods of genius to suppose that it allows itself to be cramped by forms. Forms are for mediocrity, and it is fortunate that mediocrity can act only according to routine. Ability takes its flight unhindered.
Napoleon BonaparteRead
One can lead a nation only by helping it see a bright outlook. A leader is a dealer in hope.
Napoleon BonaparteRead
We must laugh at man to avoid crying for him.
Napoleon BonaparteRead
Ten people who speak make more noise than ten thousand who are silent.
Napoleon BonaparteRead
It is my wish that my ashes may repose on the banks of the Seine, in the midst of the French people, whom I have loved so well.
Napoleon BonaparteRead
Similar quotes
In the developing world, most people don't yet live in big well-run cities. Given the chance to move to one, hundreds of millions of people would go there to get a job, get an education for their children, and live in a place that is clean, safe, and healthy.
Paul RomerRead
Change is only another word for growth, another synonym for learning.
Charles HandyRead
I think there’s a mythology that if you want to change the world, you have to be sainted, like Mother Teresa or Nelson Mandela or Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Ordinary people with lives that go up and down and around in circles can still contribute to change.
Jody WilliamsRead
Change is the principal feature of our age and literature should explore how people deal with it. The best science fiction does that, head-on.
David BrinRead
Any business today that embraces the status quo as an operating principle is going to be on a death march.
Howard SchultzRead
Gay TV has been immensely important in transforming American culture in a more gay-positive direction.
Tony KushnerRead