--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Like all men who are Napoleonic in their…" description: "\"Like all men who are Napoleonic in their ambitionshe has instincts about the nature of growth, a lover's sense of the momentof crisis, and he knewhow c..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84b/norman-mailer-839_ambition_like-all-men-who-are-napoleonic-in-their_1497888.png" --- # Like all men who are Napoleonic in their ambitionshe has… ![“Like all men who are Napoleonic in their ambitionshe has instincts about the nature of growth, a lover's sense of the momentof crisis, and he knewhow costly is defeat when it is not soothed by greater consciousness, and how wasteful is the profit of victory when there is not the courage to employ…” quote by Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84b/norman-mailer-839_ambition_like-all-men-who-are-napoleonic-in-their_1497888.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84b/norman-mailer-839_ambition_like-all-men-who-are-napoleonic-in-their_1497888.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84b/norman-mailer-839_ambition_like-all-men-who-are-napoleonic-in-their_1497888.png) > “Like all men who are Napoleonic in their ambitionshe has instincts about the nature of growth, a lover's sense of the momentof crisis, and he knewhow costly is defeat when it is not soothed by greater consciousness, and how wasteful is the profit of victory when there is not the courage to employ it.” [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage describes a man with Napoleonic ambition, aware of growth, crisis, costly defeat, and the waste of victory without courage to use it. **In simple terms:** Ambitious people recognize growth, crisis, and the need for courage to apply success wisely. Key Takeaway Cultivate courage to turn victory into meaningful action. Themes ambition growth crisis defeat victory courage Mood thoughtful critical inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career advancement - political strategy - personal development - creative projects - conflict resolution Key Concepts philosophical insight human nature leadership psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you ensure victory serves a greater purpose? - What role does humility play in ambitious pursuits? A Different Perspective Ambition can blind one to humility; victory may be misused without ethical guidance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) [Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) [Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) [Crisis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crisis/) [Defeat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defeat/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Growth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growth/) [Instinct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instinct/) [Lovers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lovers/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Motivation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivation/) [Napoleonic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/napoleonic/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Profit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profit/) [Victory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victory/) ## Related quotes > [It cost about 75 cents to kill a man in Ceasar's time. The price rose to about $3,000 per man during the Napoleonic wars;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer-bone/it-cost-about-75-cents-to-kill-a-man-in-ceasar-s-time-the-price-rose/) Homer Bone > [Not only is the Napoleonic dream stronger today in our imaginations than it has ever been, but one can already feel the slow falling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ralston-saul/not-only-is-the-napoleonic-dream-stronger-today-in-our-imaginations/) [John Ralston Saul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ralston-saul/) > [In the wars against Revolutionary and Napoleonic France, as in so many later conflicts, British women seem to have been no more markedly pacifist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-colley/in-the-wars-against-revolutionary-and-napoleonic-france-as-in-so-many/) [Linda Colley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-colley/) > [I think there is a risk that the Holocaust will be placed under a glass bubble just like the Napoleonic Wars or the Thirty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-lasker-wallfisch/i-think-there-is-a-risk-that-the-holocaust-will-be-placed-under-a/) [Anita Lasker-Wallfisch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-lasker-wallfisch/) > [What could make the Napoleonic Wars more exciting? Dragons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-novik/what-could-make-the-napoleonic-wars-more-exciting-dragons/) [Naomi Novik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-novik/) > [I like the idea of getting to dress up, like to do a Barry Lyndon or something about the Napoleonic period, the grand army…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-astbury/i-like-the-idea-of-getting-to-dress-up-like-to-do-a-barry-lyndon-or/) [Ian Astbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-astbury/) > [At the time Latin America was composed only of colonies. We were up against the biggest army of the colonial world, the Napoleonic army.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michele-montas/at-the-time-latin-america-was-composed-only-of-colonies-we-were-up/) [Michele Montas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michele-montas/) > [There has never been a century that has not had a systemic war - a systemic war, meaning when the entire system convulses. From…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-friedman/there-has-never-been-a-century-that-has-not-had-a-systemic-war-a/) [George Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-friedman/) > [Premature success gives one an almost mystical conception of destiny as opposed to will power-at its worst the Napoleonic delusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/premature-success-gives-one-an-almost-mystical-conception-of-destiny/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [The brief legal emancipation of Jews during the Napoleonic wars released unparalleled economic, professional, and cultural energies. It was though a high dam had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-elon/the-brief-legal-emancipation-of-jews-during-the-napoleonic-wars/) [Amos Elon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-elon/) > [If the bubble reputation can be obtained only at the cannon's mouth, I am willing to go there for it, provided the cannon is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-the-bubble-reputation-can-be-obtained-only-at-the-cannon-s-mouth-i/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [But the tale or narrative set in the past may have its particular time-free value; and the candid reader will not misunderstand me, will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-o-brian/but-the-tale-or-narrative-set-in-the-past-may-have-its-particular/) [Patrick O'Brian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-o-brian/) > [I have no Napoleonic dream. I'm just hard-working and pragmatic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-abramovich/i-have-no-napoleonic-dream-i-m-just-hard-working-and-pragmatic/) [Roman Abramovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-abramovich/) > [Oh, I'm nerdy about science fiction and fantasy and graphic novels and reading, and I'm nerdy about board games. My favorite board game is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-campbell/oh-i-m-nerdy-about-science-fiction-and-fantasy-and-graphic-novels-and/) [Billy Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-campbell/) > [From Caesar's legions to the Napoleonic wars. From the Reformation, the Enlightenment and the industrial revolution to the defeat of nazism. We have helped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cameron/from-caesar-s-legions-to-the-napoleonic-wars-from-the-reformation-the/) [David Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cameron/) ## More by Norman Mailer > [Conservatives are people who look at a tree and feel instinctively that it is more beautiful than anything they can name. But when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/conservatives-are-people-who-look-at-a-tree-and-feel-instinctively/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [There's a subterranean impetus towards pornography so powerful that half the business world is juiced by the sort of half sex that one finds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/there-s-a-subterranean-impetus-towards-pornography-so-powerful-that/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [So the blind will lead the blind, and the deaf shout warnings to one another until their voices are lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/so-the-blind-will-lead-the-blind-and-the-deaf-shout-warnings-to-one/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Writing for a newspaper is like running a revolutionary war. You go to battle not when you are ready, but when action offers itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/writing-for-a-newspaper-is-like-running-a-revolutionary-war-you-go-to/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [I would introduce myself if it were not useless. The name I had last night will not be the same as the name I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-would-introduce-myself-if-it-were-not-useless-the-name-i-had-last/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [“City Point is so beautiful, she says. In the night they cannot see the garbage that litters the beach, the seaweed and driftwood, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/city-point-is-so-beautiful-she-says-in-the-night-they-cannot-see-the/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [“I find it’s more fun to write about something that you don’t know completely and that you will discover on route. A dear friend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-find-it-s-more-fun-to-write-about-something-that-you-don-t-know/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Short-term amnesia is not the worst affliction if you have an Irish flair for the sauce.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/short-term-amnesia-is-not-the-worst-affliction-if-you-have-an-irish/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Part of the oncoming demise (of New York during its terrible fiscal crisis) is that none of us can simply believe it. We were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/part-of-the-oncoming-demise-of-new-york-during-its-terrible-fiscal/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [I have always had this very strong, call it a feeling, call it a prejudice, call it a conviction ... that the mysteries are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-have-always-had-this-very-strong-call-it-a-feeling-call-it-a/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [I do believe that America's deepest political sickness is that it is a self-righteous nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-do-believe-that-america-s-deepest-political-sickness-is-that-it-is/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [America is a hurricane, and the only people who do not hear the sound are those fortunate if incredibly stupid and smug White Protestants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/america-is-a-hurricane-and-the-only-people-who-do-not-hear-the-sound/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Armstrong, sitting in the commander's seat, spacesuit on, helmet on, plugged into electrical and environmental umbilical's, is a man who is not only a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/armstrong-sitting-in-the-commander-s-seat-spacesuit-on-helmet-on/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [I was thinking that surgeons had to be the happiest people on earth. To cut people up and get paid for it-that's happiness, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-was-thinking-that-surgeons-had-to-be-the-happiest-people-on-earth/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Movies are more likely than literature to reach deep feelings in people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/movies-are-more-likely-than-literature-to-reach-deep-feelings-in/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) [Explore all 355 Norman Mailer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) ## More Ambition quotes > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [One needs more than ambition and talent to make a success of anything, really. There must be love and a vocation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessye-norman/one-needs-more-than-ambition-and-talent-to-make-a-success-of-anything/) [Jessye Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessye-norman/) > [I just think my own ambition would not allow me to sit on the gifts that my creator had given me. And so that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-just-think-my-own-ambition-would-not-allow-me-to-sit-on-the-gifts/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [A man's worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-man-s-worth-is-no-greater-than-the-worth-of-his-ambitions/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm hungry and ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julen-lopetegui/i-m-hungry-and-ambitious/) [Julen Lopetegui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julen-lopetegui/) > [“I was ambitious and desperate to direct my first film, so I capitulated and blew it. Never again. Never fucking again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/i-was-ambitious-and-desperate-to-direct-my-first-film-so-i/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) > [I was always attracted most to joining City, and I am pleased to be at such a good club with such a big ambition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edin-dzeko/i-was-always-attracted-most-to-joining-city-and-i-am-pleased-to-be-at/) [Edin Dzeko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edin-dzeko/) > [Work towards your goal and dont watch the post size,its either they hate,or like you.there is no room for both sides.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-buabeng/work-towards-your-goal-and-dont-watch-the-post-size-its-either-they/) [Isaac Buabeng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-buabeng/) > [“But young men have not only this frivolous ambition of being thought masters of execution, inciting them on the one hand, but also their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-young-men-have-not-only-this-frivolous-ambition-of-being-thought/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I almost never have a plan for myself... I'm not ambitious in that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-plimpton/i-almost-never-have-a-plan-for-myself-i-m-not-ambitious-in-that-way/) [Martha Plimpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-plimpton/) > [I play for high stakes and given an audience - there is no act too daring or too noble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-play-for-high-stakes-and-given-an-audience-there-is-no-act-too/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [There's nothing worse than a leader who lacks ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-nothing-worse-than-a-leader-who-lacks-ambition/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If i can't even protect my captain's dream, then whatever ambition i have is nothing but talk..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoro/if-i-can-t-even-protect-my-captain-s-dream-then-whatever-ambition-i/) [Zoro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoro/) > [It may seem unattainable but if you put actions, your heart and your mind into it, you will prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/london-mond/it-may-seem-unattainable-but-if-you-put-actions-your-heart-and-your/) [London Mond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/london-mond/) > [Obligation is what's leading us to toward successful, and what keeps us moving towards the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wazim-shaw/obligation-is-what-s-leading-us-to-toward-successful-and-what-keeps/) [Wazim Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wazim-shaw/) [Browse all 4,601 Ambition quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Like all men who are Napoleonic in their ambitionshe has instincts about the nature of growth, a lover's sense of the momentof crisis, and he knewhow costly is defeat when it is not soothed by greater consciousness, and how wasteful is the profit of victory when there is not the courage to employ it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Norman Mailer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/like-all-men-who-are-napoleonic-in-their-ambitionshe-has-instincts/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ambition" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/like-all-men-who-are-napoleonic-in-their-ambitionshe-has-instincts/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84b/norman-mailer-839_ambition_like-all-men-who-are-napoleonic-in-their_1497888.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84b/norman-mailer-839_ambition_like-all-men-who-are-napoleonic-in-their_1497888.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84b/norman-mailer-839_ambition_like-all-men-who-are-napoleonic-in-their_1497888.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Like all men who are Napoleonic in their ambitionshe has instincts about the nature of growth, a lover's…” — Norman Mailer", "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": "Norman Mailer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Like all men who are Napoleonic...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/like-all-men-who-are-napoleonic-in-their-ambitionshe-has-instincts/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/like-all-men-who-are-napoleonic-in-their-ambitionshe-has-instincts/#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 } } ] } ```