--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Great men are meteors designed to burn so…" description: "\"Great men are meteors designed to burn so that earth may be lighted.\" — Napoleon Bonaparte" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b71/napoleon-bonaparte-206_earth_great-men-are-meteors-designed-to-burn-s_1063892.jpg" --- # Great men are meteors designed to burn so that earth may… ![“Great men are meteors designed to burn so that earth may be lighted.” quote by Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b71/napoleon-bonaparte-206_earth_great-men-are-meteors-designed-to-burn-s_1063892.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b71/napoleon-bonaparte-206_earth_great-men-are-meteors-designed-to-burn-s_1063892.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b71/napoleon-bonaparte-206_earth_great-men-are-meteors-designed-to-burn-s_1063892.jpg) > “Great men are meteors designed to burn so that earth may be lighted.” [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Great men burn brightly like meteors, illuminating the world before fading away. **In simple terms:** Great people shine briefly to inspire others. Key Takeaway Embrace your impact, not longevity. Themes legacy inspiration transience Mood determined reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - public speaking - mentoring - creative projects Key Concepts heroic myth ephemeral brilliance Questions to Reflect On - What lasting influence can you create? - How do you handle the pressure of brilliance? A Different Perspective Fame can be fleeting and lead to burnout. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Great men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-men/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) ## Related quotes > [Great men are meteors, consuming themselves to light the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/great-men-are-meteors-consuming-themselves-to-light-the-world/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [Men of genius are meteors destined to burn themselves out in lighting up their age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/men-of-genius-are-meteors-destined-to-burn-themselves-out-in-lighting/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [Men of genius are meteors intended to burn to light their century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/men-of-genius-are-meteors-intended-to-burn-to-light-their-century/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [It is in times of difficulty that great nations like great men display the whole energy of their character and become an object of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/it-is-in-times-of-difficulty-that-great-nations-like-great-men/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [Washington is dead! This great man fought against Tyranny; he established the liberty of his country. His memory will always be dear to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/washington-is-dead-this-great-man-fought-against-tyranny-he/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [I would that we were, my beloved, white birds on the foam of the sea! We tire of the flame of the meteor, before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/i-would-that-we-were-my-beloved-white-birds-on-the-foam-of-the-sea-we/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [Thoughts are like stars in the firmament; some are fixed, others like the wandering planets, others again are only like meteors. Understanding is like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cavendish/thoughts-are-like-stars-in-the-firmament-some-are-fixed-others-like/) [Margaret Cavendish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cavendish/) > [“First we find a buried star and now we go to dig up a mint-new human”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/first-we-find-a-buried-star-and-now-we-go-to-dig-up-a-mint-new-human/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [So all night long the storm roared on: The morning broke without a sun; In tiny spherule traced with lines Of Nature’s geometric signs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/so-all-night-long-the-storm-roared-on-the-morning-broke-without-a-sun/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [They are so confident that they will run on forever. But they won't run on. 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To excavate Meteor Crater, the universe, using a sixty-thousand-ton asteroid traveling upward of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/but-to-carve-the-grand-canyon-earth-required-millions-of-years-to/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [The night is falling down around us. Meteors rain like fireworks, quick rips in the seam of the dark... Every second, another streak of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/the-night-is-falling-down-around-us-meteors-rain-like-fireworks-quick/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [Meslier was the most singular phenomenon ever seen among all the meteors fatal to the Christian religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/meslier-was-the-most-singular-phenomenon-ever-seen-among-all-the/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) ## More by Napoleon Bonaparte > [He is almost a statesman. 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That is the ultimate position-the position of total control over Earth that lies somewhere out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/there-is-something-more-important-than-any-ultimate-weapon-that-is/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. 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He's been in contact with humans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-muschietti/mythology-is-something-that-always-has-opportunities-to-explore-it/) [Andy Muschietti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-muschietti/) > [Give me strength to walk the soft earth, a relative to all that is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/black-elk/give-me-strength-to-walk-the-soft-earth-a-relative-to-all-that-is/) [Black Elk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/black-elk/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [Set NOT your hearts on the flowers of this world. They shall fade and die. Prize the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/set-not-your-hearts-on-the-flowers-of-this-world-they-shall-fade-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Then all this earth shines like one house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/then-all-this-earth-shines-like-one-house/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [When I get a chance to play golf or go on a boat with good people, take the boat out and put some lobsters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/when-i-get-a-chance-to-play-golf-or-go-on-a-boat-with-good-people/) [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) > [When man of slender visits you / Nothing on earth that one can do / In well he’ll hide, or watery hole / And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-goldstein/when-man-of-slender-visits-you-nothing-on-earth-that-one-can-do-in/) [Jack Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-goldstein/) > [Cities are 2% of the earth's crust, but they are 50% of the world's population.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-ratti/cities-are-2-of-the-earth-s-crust-but-they-are-50-of-the-world-s/) [Carlo Ratti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-ratti/) > [This, at last, was where things were as they ought to be. Everything was in its place -- the tree, the earth underneath, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/this-at-last-was-where-things-were-as-they-ought-to-be-everything-was/) [Jean Liedloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/) > [Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. 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