--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Buonaparte has often made his boast that…" description: "\"Buonaparte has often made his boast that our fleet would be worn out by keeping the sea and that his was kept in order and increasing by staying in por..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/horatio-nelson-11575_boast_buonaparte-has-often-made-his-boast-that_54456.jpg" --- # Buonaparte has often made his boast that our fleet would… ![“Buonaparte has often made his boast that our fleet would be worn out by keeping the sea and that his was kept in order and increasing by staying in port; but know he finds, I fancy, if Emperors hear the truth, that his fleet suffers more in a night than ours in one year.” quote by Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/horatio-nelson-11575_boast_buonaparte-has-often-made-his-boast-that_54456.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/horatio-nelson-11575_boast_buonaparte-has-often-made-his-boast-that_54456.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/horatio-nelson-11575_boast_buonaparte-has-often-made-his-boast-that_54456.jpg) > “Buonaparte has often made his boast that our fleet would be worn out by keeping the sea and that his was kept in order and increasing by staying in port; but know he finds, I fancy, if Emperors hear the truth, that his fleet suffers more in a night than ours in one year.” [Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Nelson argues that a fleet kept idle in port deteriorates faster than an active fleet at sea, emphasizing the value of continual engagement over complacent preservation. **In simple terms:** Idle fleets decay quicker than active ones. Key Takeaway Activity sustains strength. Themes strategy leadership naval warfare maintenance efficiency risk Mood determined pragmatic confident Type military insight strategic observation historical commentary When to use this quote - naval command decisions - military budgeting - fleet maintenance planning - strategic deterrence assessments Key Concepts fleet readiness operational tempo resource allocation combat readiness Practical Applications - military training programs - logistics and supply chain management Questions to Reflect On - How does inactivity affect organizational capability? - What balance should be struck between preservation and operational use? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Boast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boast/) [Boast Fleet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boast-fleet-761426/) [Fancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fancy/) [Fleet Suffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fleet-suffers-761424/) [Fleet Worn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fleet-worn-761427/) [Keeping Sea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/keeping-sea-761425/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Port](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/port/) [Sea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sea/) [Sea Kept](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sea-kept-761428/) [Staying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/staying/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Worn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worn/) ## Related quotes > [“And, you know, we are all in the same keeping. The sea is a glorious great pure thing, you know, that man cannot hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-mary-yonge/and-you-know-we-are-all-in-the-same-keeping-the-sea-is-a-glorious/) [Charlotte Mary Yonge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-mary-yonge/) > [“So you'll be keeping the Sea Devil, " she said. His light eyes roamed over her, settled for a moment on her breasts. "I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kat-martin/so-you-ll-be-keeping-the-sea-devil-she-said-his-light-eyes-roamed/) [kat martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kat-martin/) > [Never break the neutrality of a port or place, but never consider as neutral any place from whence an attack is allowed to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/never-break-the-neutrality-of-a-port-or-place-but-never-consider-as/) [Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/) > [If a man does not know to what port he is steering, no wind is favorable to him. Ignoranti quem portum petat, nullus suus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/if-a-man-does-not-know-to-what-port-he-is-steering-no-wind-is/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [There are only two options for a ship: Either to sail to the sea and fight with the waves or rot in a port!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/there-are-only-two-options-for-a-ship-either-to-sail-to-the-sea-and/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [I bought ... the pins with my three daughters in mind; the ships are beautiful, graceful, and moving along at full sail, having long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-albright/i-bought-the-pins-with-my-three-daughters-in-mind-the-ships-are/) [Madeleine Albright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-albright/) > [I can't have friends in every port. I have to work very hard and be very clear about what I want to do. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvie-guillem/i-can-t-have-friends-in-every-port-i-have-to-work-very-hard-and-be/) [Sylvie Guillem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvie-guillem/) > [O polished perturbation! golden care! That keep'st the ports of slumber open wide To many a watchful night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-polished-perturbation-golden-care-that-keep-st-the-ports-of-slumber/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [In 2003, this House voted to kill a Democratic amendment to add $250 million for port security grants; then again, in 2005, against a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russ-carnahan/in-2003-this-house-voted-to-kill-a-democratic-amendment-to-add-250/) [Russ Carnahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russ-carnahan/) > [Some gifted adventurer is always sailing round the world of art and science, to bring home costly merchandise from every port.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/some-gifted-adventurer-is-always-sailing-round-the-world-of-art-and/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [“Sometimes in life, we reach a right place by departing from a wrong port with a wrong ship!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/sometimes-in-life-we-reach-a-right-place-by-departing-from-a-wrong/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Books should confuse. Literature abhors the typical. Literature flows to the particular, the mundane, the greasiness of paper, the taste of warm beer, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rodriguez/books-should-confuse-literature-abhors-the-typical-literature-flows/) [Richard Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rodriguez/) > [O friend, never strike sail to a fear! Come into port greatly, or sail with God the seas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/o-friend-never-strike-sail-to-a-fear-come-into-port-greatly-or-sail/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The American President resembles the commander of a ship at sea. He must have a helm to grasp, a course to steer, a port…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/the-american-president-resembles-the-commander-of-a-ship-at-sea-he/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [It is easy to give advice from a port of safety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/it-is-easy-to-give-advice-from-a-port-of-safety/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) ## More by Horatio Nelson > [England expects every man to do his duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/england-expects-every-man-to-do-his-duty/) [Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/) > [Duty is the great business of a sea officer; all private considerations must give way to it, however painful it may be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/duty-is-the-great-business-of-a-sea-officer-all-private/) [Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/) > [When I came to explain to them the 'Nelson Touch', it was like an electric shock. Some shed tears, all approved - 'It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/when-i-came-to-explain-to-them-the-nelson-touch-it-was-like-an/) [Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/) > [Had we taken ten sails, and let the eleventh to escape, being able to get at her, I could never have called it well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/had-we-taken-ten-sails-and-let-the-eleventh-to-escape-being-able-to/) [Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/) > [Something must be left to chance; nothing is certain in a sea fight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/something-must-be-left-to-chance-nothing-is-certain-in-a-sea-fight/) [Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/) > [The politics of courts are so mean that private people would be ashamed to act in the same way; all is trick and finesse,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/the-politics-of-courts-are-so-mean-that-private-people-would-be/) [Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/) > [Frigates are the eyes of a fleet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/frigates-are-the-eyes-of-a-fleet/) [Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/) > [I am ill every time it blows hard, and nothing but my enthusiastic love for the profession keeps me one hour at sea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/i-am-ill-every-time-it-blows-hard-and-nothing-but-my-enthusiastic/) [Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/) > [If a man consults whether he is to fight, when he has the power in his own hands, it is certain that his opinion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/if-a-man-consults-whether-he-is-to-fight-when-he-has-the-power-in-his/) [Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/) > [Laurels grow in the Bay of Biscay, I hope a bed of them may be found in the Mediterranean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/laurels-grow-in-the-bay-of-biscay-i-hope-a-bed-of-them-may-be-found/) [Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/) > [When I follow my own head, I am, in general, much more correct in my judgment than following the opinion of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/when-i-follow-my-own-head-i-am-in-general-much-more-correct-in-my/) [Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/) > [A ship's a fool to fight a fort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/a-ship-s-a-fool-to-fight-a-fort/) [Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/) > [Whoever gains the palm by merit, let him hold it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/whoever-gains-the-palm-by-merit-let-him-hold-it/) [Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/) > [The bravest man feels an anxiety 'circa praecordia' as he enters the battle; but he dreads disgrace yet more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/the-bravest-man-feels-an-anxiety-circa-praecordia-as-he-enters-the/) [Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/) > [I am of the opinion that the boldest measures are the safest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/i-am-of-the-opinion-that-the-boldest-measures-are-the-safest/) [Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/) [Explore all 59 Horatio Nelson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/) ## More Boast quotes > [It would be a piece of ingenuousness to accuse the man of today of his lack of moral code. The accusation would leave him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/it-would-be-a-piece-of-ingenuousness-to-accuse-the-man-of-today-of/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [Win without boasting. Lose without excuse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-payson-terhune/win-without-boasting-lose-without-excuse/) [Albert Payson Terhune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-payson-terhune/) > [Further conceive, I beg, that a stone, while continuing in motion, should be capable of thinking and knowing, that it is endeavoring, as far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/further-conceive-i-beg-that-a-stone-while-continuing-in-motion-should/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Boasting and bravado may exist in the breast even of the coward, if he is successful through a mere lucky hit; but a just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/boasting-and-bravado-may-exist-in-the-breast-even-of-the-coward-if-he/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [“In general, poor is polite and rich is rude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/in-general-poor-is-polite-and-rich-is-rude/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [“in other words, his story was part boast, part confession.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-mezrich/in-other-words-his-story-was-part-boast-part-confession/) [Ben Mezrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-mezrich/) > [We are not saints, but we have kept our appointment. How many people can boast as much?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/we-are-not-saints-but-we-have-kept-our-appointment-how-many-people/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [Boast is always a cry of despair, except in the young it is a cry of hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-berenson/boast-is-always-a-cry-of-despair-except-in-the-young-it-is-a-cry-of/) [Bernard Berenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-berenson/) > [“A classic is read not to enjoy but only to be boast about it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aman-jassal/a-classic-is-read-not-to-enjoy-but-only-to-be-boast-about-it/) [Aman Jassal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aman-jassal/) > [Wisdom can boast no higher attainment than happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-radcliffe/wisdom-can-boast-no-higher-attainment-than-happiness/) [Ann Radcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-radcliffe/) > [But thou art fair, and at thy birth, dear boy, Nature and Fortune join'd to make thee great: Of Nature's gifts thou mayst with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/but-thou-art-fair-and-at-thy-birth-dear-boy-nature-and-fortune-join-d/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Science appears but what in truth she is, Not as our glory and our absolute boast, But as a succedaneum, and a prop To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/science-appears-but-what-in-truth-she-is-not-as-our-glory-and-our/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [It has, therefore, been a favorite boast of the people of Wales and Cornwall, that the original British stock flourishes in its unmixed purity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bulfinch/it-has-therefore-been-a-favorite-boast-of-the-people-of-wales-and/) [Thomas Bulfinch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bulfinch/) > [Boasting is only a masked shame; it does not truly believe in itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/boasting-is-only-a-masked-shame-it-does-not-truly-believe-in-itself/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [It is the multiplication of men who are exluded from working which provokes war. We ought at least to bear this in mind when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/it-is-the-multiplication-of-men-who-are-exluded-from-working-which/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) [Browse all 567 Boast quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boast/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Buonaparte has often made his boast that our fleet would be worn out by keeping the sea and that his was kept in order and increasing by staying in port; but know he finds, I fancy, if Emperors hear the truth, that his fleet suffers more in a night than ours in one year.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Horatio Nelson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/buonaparte-has-often-made-his-boast-that-our-fleet-would-be-worn-out/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Boast" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/buonaparte-has-often-made-his-boast-that-our-fleet-would-be-worn-out/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/horatio-nelson-11575_boast_buonaparte-has-often-made-his-boast-that_54456.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/horatio-nelson-11575_boast_buonaparte-has-often-made-his-boast-that_54456.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/horatio-nelson-11575_boast_buonaparte-has-often-made-his-boast-that_54456.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Buonaparte has often made his boast that our fleet would be worn out by keeping the sea and that his was…” — Horatio Nelson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Horatio Nelson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Buonaparte has often made his boast...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/buonaparte-has-often-made-his-boast-that-our-fleet-would-be-worn-out/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/buonaparte-has-often-made-his-boast-that-our-fleet-would-be-worn-out/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```