Emperor Sayings and Quotes

Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old emperor quotes, emperor sayings, and emperor proverbs, collected over the years from a variety of sources.

Yesterday we obeyed kings and bent our necks before emperors. But today we kneel only to truth, follow only beauty, and obey only love. Khalil Gibran
Even Kings and emperors with heaps of wealth and vast dominion cannot compare with an ant filled with the love of God. Guru Nanak
No emperor has the power to dictate to the heart. Friedrich Schiller
How dangerous emperors are when they go mad. Walid Jumblatt
No one would have doubted his ability to reign had he never been emperor. Tacitus
The finest plans have always been spoiled by the littleness of them that should carry them out. Even emperors can't do it all by themselves. Bertolt Brecht
I am Emperor, my descendants will be numerous. From the second generation to the ten thousandth, my line will not end. Qin Shihuangdi
Christianity ruined emperors, but saved peoples. Alfred De Musset
An emperor in his nightcap will not meet with half the respect of an emperor with a glittering crown. Oliver Goldsmith
The supreme nobility of a Roman emperor does not consist in being a master of slaves, but in being a lord of free men, who loves freedom even in those who serve him. Julius Evola
Better a living beggar than a buried emperor. Jean de la Fontaine
If the emperor and the palace officials cannot get along well, the country will surely come to extinction. Su Shi
At all times an empire is more important than emperor and empress, prince and princess. Amit Kalantri
The only emperor is the emperor of ice cream. Wallace Stevens
It becomes an emperor to die standing. Vespasian
Praise the Emperor whose sacrifice is life as ours is death. Credo Astronomicon
You don't need to work hard to earn an empire; there is an army of slaves to do it for you. Bangambiki Habyarimana
Only he who has no use for the empire is fit to be entrusted with it. Zhuangzi
Being a king, emperor, or president is mighty small potatoes compared to being a mother. Billy Sunday
The souls of emperors and cobblers are cast in the same mould. Michel de Montaigne
The emperor indeed is within the Church, not about the Church. St. Ambrose
Traitors who prevail are patriots usurpers who succeed are divine emperors. Gore Vidal
An Emperor confides in national soldiers, not in mercenaries. Napoleon Bonaparte
The emperor is just a man, after all. Ken Liu
Genius is not a retainer to any emperor. Henry David Thoreau