Can anyone tell me the origin of this quote from Napoleon? Apparently it was printed in Revue des deux mondes (1838) but the reference is wrong (I've checked):
"There are only two forces in the world, the sword and the spirit. In the long run the sword will always be conquered by the spirit."
I'm aware that as spirit is based on 'esprit' it could also be construed as 'sword and the mind', but spirit seems to be the accepted version.
I'd be very grateful for any light that anyone can shed on this!
J. Christopher Herold in "The Mind of Napoleon" (Columbia Univ. 1961), p 76 (and note on p.300) indicates it's from a "Conversation with Fontanes, cited in Martel, III, 7" Tancred Martel, Napoleon Bonaparte:Oeuvres littéraries. (1888)
Thanks Tom, i'll take a look!
Las Cases?
https://dicocitations.lemonde.fr/citations/citation-49275.php