The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations Preface

There is only one step from the sublime to the ridiculous.
To De Pradt, Polish ambassador, after the retreat from Moscow in 1812, in D. G. De Pradt ‘Histoire de
l’Ambassade dans le grand-duchè de Varsovie en 1812’ (1815) p. 215.
Soldats, songez que, du haut de ces pyramides, quarante siécles vous contemplent.
Think of it, soldiers; from the summit of these pyramids, forty centuries look down upon you.
Speech to the Army of Egypt on 21 July 1798, before the Battle of the Pyramids in Gourgaud ‘Mèmoires,
Guerre d’Orient’ 1, p. 160
Quant au courage moral, il avait trouvè fort rare, disait-il, celui de deux heures aprés minuit;
c’est-á-dire le courage de l’improviste.
As to moral courage, I have very rarely met with two o’clock in the morning courage: I mean
instantaneous courage.
In E. A. de Las Cases ‘Mèmorial de Ste-Hèléne’ (1823) vol. 1, pt. 2, 4-5 December 1815
An army marches on its stomach.
Attributed, but probably condensed from a long passage in E. A. de Las Cases ‘Mèmorial de Ste-
Hèléne’ (1823) vol. 4, 14 November 1816. ‘Windsor Magazine’ 1904 p. 268. Also attributed to Frederick the
Great, in ‘Notes and Queries’ 10 March 1866, p. 196
On s’engage, et aprés on voit.
One engages [with the enemy]—and then one sees.
Habitual mode of describing his system of warfare, in Caulincourt ‘Conversations with Napoleon’
La carriére ouverte aux talents.
The career open to talents.
In Barry E. O’Meara ‘Napoleon in Exile’ (1822) vol. 1, p. 103
L’Angleterre est une nation de boutiquiers.
England is a nation of shopkeepers.
Attributed by Barry E. O’Meara ‘Napoleon in Exile’ (1822) vol. 2, p. 81.
As though he had 200,000 men.
When asked how to treat the Pope, in J. M. Robinson ‘Cardinal Consalvi’ (1987) p. 65.
Has he luck?
Attributed. Habitually asked, to assess a man’s probable practical value. A. J. P. Taylor ‘Politics in
Wartime’ (1964) ch. 16
2.7 Ogden Nash 1902-1971
The turtle lives ’twixt plated decks
Which practically conceal its sex.
I think it clever of the turtle
In such a fix to be so fertile.
‘Autres Bêtes, Autres Moeurs’ (1931)
The camel has a single hump;
The dromedary, two;
Or else the other way around,