--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Napoleon the greatest of the conquerors…" description: "\"“Napoleon the greatest of the conquerors, is a sufficient proof that great men of action are criminals, and, therefore not geniuses. One can understand..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/790/otto-weininger-11319_action_napoleon-the-greatest-of-the-conquerors_85318.jpg" --- # Napoleon the greatest of the conquerors, is a sufficient… ![“Napoleon the greatest of the conquerors, is a sufficient proof that great men of action are criminals, and, therefore not geniuses. One can understand him by thinking of the tremendous intensity with which he tried to escape from himself.” quote by Otto Weininger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/790/otto-weininger-11319_action_napoleon-the-greatest-of-the-conquerors_85318.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/790/otto-weininger-11319_action_napoleon-the-greatest-of-the-conquerors_85318.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/790/otto-weininger-11319_action_napoleon-the-greatest-of-the-conquerors_85318.jpg) > ““Napoleon the greatest of the conquerors, is a sufficient proof that great men of action are criminals, and, therefore not geniuses. One can understand him by thinking of the tremendous intensity with which he tried to escape from himself.”” [Otto Weininger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-weininger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Napoleon’s legacy illustrates that extraordinary ambition and decisive action can mask moral compromise, suggesting that power often stems from self‑denial rather than genius. **In simple terms:** Power can hide ethical cost. Key Takeaway Great deeds may stem from inner conflict. Themes Power Morality Ambition Self‑identity Historical critique Mood Reflective Skeptical Type Philosophical Historical When to use this quote - Studying historical figures - Analyzing political power - Discussing moral philosophy - Teaching history - Debating leadership Key Concepts Leadership Ethics Psychology Practical Applications - Critical essays on leadership - Ethics courses Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to be a 'great man' if his actions cause harm? - Can self‑exile be a source of strength or weakness? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/) [Conqueror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conqueror/) [Great men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-men/) [Napoleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/napoleon/) ## Related quotes > [“Napoleon, the greatest of the conquerors, is a sufficient proof that great men of action are criminals, and therefore, not geniuses. 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The nations of the earth have often been subjugated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-truschke/i-wish-you-to-recollect-that-the-greatest-conquerors-are-not-always/) [Audrey Truschke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-truschke/) > [How few successful men are interesting! Hannibal, Alcibiades, with Raleigh, Mithridates, and Napoleon, who would compare them for a moment with their mere conquerors?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bontine-cunninghame-graham/how-few-successful-men-are-interesting-hannibal-alcibiades-with/) [Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bontine-cunninghame-graham/) > [“They are subjected to all manner of taxes: the tithe, the hearth tax and the capitation tax. 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Was Napoleon really at Waterloo?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-bromell/history-is-powerful-stuff-one-day-your-world-is-fine-the-next-day-it/) [Henry Bromell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-bromell/) > [The Emperor Napoleon, ascending gradually from his post of national magistrate to seat himself upon a throne without limits, seems to have wished to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-lafayette/the-emperor-napoleon-ascending-gradually-from-his-post-of-national/) [Marquis de Lafayette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-lafayette/) > [“Never interfere with an enemy while he’s in the process of destroying himself.’ Napoleon Bonaparte”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashwin-sanghi/never-interfere-with-an-enemy-while-he-s-in-the-process-of-destroying/) [Ashwin Sanghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashwin-sanghi/) > [“Napoleon, the man of genius, did this! But to say that he destroyed his army because he wished to, or because he was very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/napoleon-the-man-of-genius-did-this-but-to-say-that-he-destroyed-his/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) ## More by Otto Weininger > [Woman, in short, has an unconscious life, man a conscious life, and the genius the most conscious life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-weininger/woman-in-short-has-an-unconscious-life-man-a-conscious-life-and-the/) [Otto Weininger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-weininger/) > [ No one suffers so much as he \[the genius\] with the people, and, therefore, for the people, with whom he lives. For, in a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-weininger/no-one-suffers-so-much-as-he-the-genius-with-the-people-and-therefore/) [Otto Weininger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-weininger/) > [“Only from within himself can a person know the depth of the world: in him lie the interconnections of the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-weininger/only-from-within-himself-can-a-person-know-the-depth-of-the-world-in/) [Otto Weininger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-weininger/) > [No men who really think deeply about women retain a high opinion of them; men either despise women or they have never thought seriously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-weininger/no-men-who-really-think-deeply-about-women-retain-a-high-opinion-of/) [Otto Weininger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-weininger/) > [The number of different aspects that the face of a man has assumed may be taken almost as a physiognomical measure of his ... genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-weininger/the-number-of-different-aspects-that-the-face-of-a-man-has-assumed/) [Otto Weininger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-weininger/) > [Man is alone in the world, in tremendous eternal isolation. 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That is why man orients himself by them; and that is why women have no appreciation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-weininger/the-fixed-stars-signify-the-angel-in-man-that-is-why-man-orients/) [Otto Weininger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-weininger/) > [A nation orients itself by its own geniuses, and derives from them its ideas of its own ideals, but the guiding star serves also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-weininger/a-nation-orients-itself-by-its-own-geniuses-and-derives-from-them-its/) [Otto Weininger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-weininger/) > [To understand a man is really to be that man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-weininger/to-understand-a-man-is-really-to-be-that-man/) [Otto Weininger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-weininger/) [Explore all 59 Otto Weininger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-weininger/) ## More Action quotes > [I always say there are two things to be successful. 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