Napoleon Bonaparte Quote

"When a government is dependent upon bankers for money, they and not the leaders of the government control the situation, since the hand that gives is above the hand that takes. Money has no motherland; financiers are without patriotism and without decency; their sole object is gain."

by:	Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) French emperor
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Categories:	Banking, Economics, Government, IMF, Money, Patriotism, Power
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... gee, sounds like the same could be said for the industrial-military complex...  -- Anonymous, Reston, VA US
When exactly was this NOT true? Banking and Insurance/Financial institutions have written their own laws via their power in Washington. Who's running this show?  -- Terry Berg, Occidental, CA
The banker has been the downfall of every kingdom and republic. 'Neither a borrower nor a lender be.'  -- E Archer, NYC
If I could give as many stars to this quote equal to the amount of money the international bankers can create it still wouldn't be enough.  -- Anon
Napoleon had a mind capable of finding the sometimes subtle truth of many situations. He also had an incredible ego and has a complex named after him. Financiers do have a profit motive. Who doesn't? If you find someone without this, He has been nailed to a cross. In order to reap and enjoy profit, there must be a stable environment for the agent. In evaluating any wisdom from Napoleon, one must weigh his acts and goals in the balance as well. He was after wealth and power. He managed to bring the Pope to his own coronation as emperor and then seized the crown from the Pope's hands and crowned himself. It is natural to generally despise the person you must turn to in order to enable your goals. The accumulation of wealth is not an easy task. If it were, there would be no need of financiers. The refrain never changes. "If only I had..."  -- J. B. Wulff, Bristol, CT
Andrew Jackson said pretty much the same thing. Makes you wonder what the Civil War was really all about.  -- J Carlton, Calgary
The war between the states was not fought to free the slaves. Lincoln had no interest in freeing the slaves.The Emancipation Proclamation only freed slaves in certain states. The war was fought over secession. Read "Lincoln Unmasked" for more information. You will never see old "Honest Abe" in the same light again.  -- jim k, austin
Wulff, I take your point, but I'm rating this on the quote alone without the encumbrance NB's ego/character. This brings up another point, whether or not we should judge a quote more on the individual's character or essence of his/her words - or perhaps both?  -- RBESRQ
The quote addresses the foundation of the issue. Examples to the contrary are simply expressions of incomplete or incorrect observances.  -- Mike, Norwalk
All pure capitalist should be cheering for this quote. If capitalism is about the acquisition, control and use of money (capital) then the bankers are your greatest heroes. Now sometimes a community or a nation may wish to have some control over their destinies also and the capitalist must be somehow brought up short and stopped. And some will call that socialism.  -- Waffler, Smith
NB realized that sovereignty included the power to create money, and if that power was in private hands it could never be held accountable to the people. Unchecked and uncontrolled power is tyranny. "The Government should create, issue, and circulate all the currency and credit needed to satisfy spending power of the Government and the buying of consumers. The privilege of creating and issuing money is not only the supreme prerogative of Governments, but it is the government's greatest creative opportunity. By the adoption of these principles, the long-felt want for a uniform medium will be satisfied. The taxpayers will be saved immense sums of interest. The financing of al public enterprises, and the conduct of he Treasury will become mattes of practical administration. Money will cease to be master and become the servant of humanity." ABRAHAM LINCOLN  -- Jere Hough, Kansas City
-- Anonymous
For those who try to analyse Napoleon 's quote base on his character, all I said to say to you: take napoleon's quote +Lincoln+Andrew Jackson+James Abraham Garfield+Larry P. McDonald+John Heinz+John Tower+Benjamin Franklin+Thomas Edison+ Henry Ford+ John F. kennedy+ Louis T. McFaden and find out why all these believed and also proved that money changers are at the root of every problem on earth. War,misery and more....on a educational remember that money does not lost...there is the transfered of money from A to B. Market crashed = the money has been transfered. the ideas of bankers has more power than a sovereign government is mind badgling both it is reality every where. United states, europe, asia....they are in control. they loan money that does not exist and they have paid them interest on it. only a banker can turn $1000 into $10000 in second..  -- Jules B, nyack
Jules B is SPOT ON. Never mind a mans character, when it comes to world financiers, money, even the most debased leaders still got THAT part right. Like the points in society that affect EVERYONE, financiers have plagued this worlds governments since the early Greeks and Romans, even Jesus ousted the Tax Collector. (and He was forgiving) I invite anyone to do a study on HOW the Rothchilds came into being. Who were they known as BEFORE the famous label.  -- Reubenq, LosAngeles
Wow, NB really hammeded those nails didnt he. JFK tried to defy the international bankers but got shot down six months later. They have coopted all government and industry not to mention the financial markets. Taking on the bankers involves a global revolt. That means taking down the WB,IMF, BIS, and these dark pool deriavatives. We dont really need a gold standard per se, just following our consitution will really save us. Art 1, sec 8, only congress shall have the right to issue coin and regualte the value and credit thereof! Not a privately owned central bank.  -- Francois, L.A.
Jere Hough, Jules B, and Francois got it right. The bankers lend money to governments at interest and governments guarantee repayment through taxes. This means the citizens are responsible for not only paying for all gov't activity, but also paying off the interest. What's worse, the money in circulation is printed by the same central bank that it is owed to through taxes! I'm interested in what you're saying about the Rothchilds, Reubenq. Do you have any links?  -- Jesse J, Orlando
-- Napoleon, Bonaparte
JULES B, YOU MISS THE POINT, YES THE U.S. LOANS MONEY BUT IT IS THE THE PRIVATELY OWN FEDERAL RESERVE WHO OKAYS IT, WE PAY INTEREST ON THAT MONEY WHICH WILL NEVER BE PAID BACK BY ANY OF THESE THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES.  -- SERGIO, UNION
-- Anonymous
-- bill, tim
One of my favorite quotes. Jules B, certainly hit the nail on the head. Anybody who disagrees, hasn't done their research fully. In order to grasp the magnitude of the evil works of the socio-paths, one must take into account all historical, economical, political, financial, and social events of our past. It is often difficult to get past the bias of the information provided by each individual division, but it is impossible to ignore the constant denominator negatively influencing and undermining the integrity of all, the INTERNATIONAL BANKERS.  -- Curt, Pittsburgh
I love this quote...this is exactly what is presently happening in Nigeria and other African Nations.please can any economist or anyone well enlightened tell me if it is possible for a nation with resources do without IMF and WB?thanks  -- Suetuko, Lagos, Nigeria
-- Amio, london
I love this quote of Napoleon. He was an extraordinary man, I understood this after I read this story - http://www.fampeople.com/articles-let-him-have-enough-sleep-napoleon-bonaparte  -- Cate
so true, to bad millions of people do not understand this...  -- Casey, Dallas TX
The world has been deliberately kept ignorant and has bee led into psychological slumber incapable of comprehening a system used to control and enslave them by the money master. This is alluded to by Lord Maynard Keynnes who was quoted as saying " There is subtler, no surer means of overturning the existing basis of the society than to debauch the currency. This process engages all hidden forces of economic laws on the side of destruction and does so in a manner in which not one man in million is able to diagnose".  -- Abu mateenat, Lags
It's interesting to note the discussion of Napoleon as something of a mixed bag, and of whether or not the source is important to a quotation. My sentiment is that it takes one to know one, and if you want to hear the opinion of someone who seeks power as to the role banks play in power brokering, you would have a hard time finding a better authority than Napoleon. Napoleon was a nationalist. That was his sin, and the sin of many that have followed from his own time to the present day. Nationalism is by and large a bad thing. It's only good is that it is a broader and more inclusive definition of "us" than many that came before. But for bankers, there is no "us". Theirs is the least inclusive philosophy of them all. That, to my mind, is the issue that this quote addresses so well, and that makes it appropriate to take the insight of Napoleon at face value on this specific topic if perhaps not on a variety of others.  -- Shane Roach, Austin, TX

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