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Original french for Napoleon's quote "No matter where you go, however far away..."?

I'm trying to find the original french for this quote by Napoleon Bonaparte. I'm going to use it as part of a gift for a friend who is going to study in France for the next year...

"No matter where you go, however far away, a part of me will be with you and a part of you, with me, will stay. But to see her was to love her, love but her, and love her forever As for me, to love you alone, to make you happy, to do nothing which would contradict your wishes, this is my destiny and the meaning of my life."

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  • Juana
    Lv 7
    8 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    Your quote is inconsistent in its use of personal pronouns. That is why it cannot be one quote by one author.

    The first part "No matter where you go, however far away, a part of me will be with you and a part of you, with me, will stay" is usually attributed to an anonymous author. I also take it that it is no translation.

    The second part is from a poem by Robert Burns:

    I'll ne'er blame my partial fancy:

    Naething could resist my Nancy!

    But to see her was to love her,

    Love but her, and love forever.

    Had we never lov'd sae kindly,

    Had we never lov'd sae blindly,

    Never met - or never parted -

    We had ne'er been broken hearted

    (from: Ae Fond Kiss)

    Only the last part is Napoléon's. It's from a letter to Joséphine:

    "Pour moi, t'aimer seule, te rendre heureuse, ne rien faire qui puisse te contrarier, voilà le destin et le but de ma vie." (28 novembre 1796)

  • ?
    Lv 4
    8 years ago

    "Peu importe où vous allez, mais loin de là, une partie de moi sera avec vous et une partie d'entre vous, avec moi, va rester. Mais, à sa voir, c'était l'aimer, l'amour, mais elle, et son amour pour toujours Quant à moi, de vous aimer seul, pour vous faire plaisir, à ne rien faire qui serait en contradiction avec vos souhaits, c'est mon destin et le sens de ma vie ."

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