Frasi di Horatio Nelson

Lord Horatio Nelson, primo visconte Nelson e primo duca di Bronte , è stato un ammiraglio britannico.

Per le sue vittorie nelle tre grandi battaglie navali in cui era comandante in capo, è ancora oggi ricordato come uno dei più amati e celebrati eroi nazionali d'Inghilterra; ma non mancano nella sua vita episodi controversi, come la parte avuta negli orrori seguiti alla fine della Repubblica Napoletana nel 1799.

Il suo ruolo di Eroe Nazionale dell'Impero britannico, vittorioso in importanti battaglie, ha attirato su di sé l'attenzione di numerosi biografi, la maggior parte dei quali si è limitata a riproporre la consolidata biografia ufficiale, edita pochi anni dopo la morte con la collaborazione interessata del fratello di Nelson e di numerosi esponenti governativi. Recentemente alcune opere hanno dedicato maggior attenzione a documenti ancora disponibili dai quali è possibile risalire ad un Nelson meno "agiografico".



Wikipedia  

✵ 29. Settembre 1758 – 21. Ottobre 1805   •   Altri nomi Lord Horatio Nelson
Horatio Nelson photo
Horatio Nelson: 42   frasi 1   Mi piace

Horatio Nelson frasi celebri

“La pederastia è utile, se non altro perché aumenta l'autonomia della flotta.”

citato in Focus, n. 103, pag. 208

“L'Inghilterra si aspetta che ogni uomo faccia il proprio dovere.”

alla vigilia della battaglia di Trafalgar; citato in Paul K. Davis, Le 100 battaglie che hanno cambiato la storia

Horatio Nelson: Frasi in inglese

“Thank God, I have done my duty.”

Statement among his final dying words. [citation needed]
The Battle of Trafalgar (1805)

“First gain the victory and then make the best use of it you can.”

Before the battle of the Nile (1 August 1797) [citation needed]
1790s

“Time is everything; five minutes make the difference between victory and defeat.”

Frothingham, Jessie Peabody. Sea Fighters from Drake to Farragut New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1902. p. 314
1800s

“Desperate affairs require desperate measures.”

As quoted in The Book of Military Quotations (1992) edited by Peter G. Tsouras, p. 54
1800s

“Now I can do no more. We must trust to the Great Disposer of all Events and the Justice of our Cause. I thank God for this great opportunity of doing my Duty.”

In response to the cheer that was raised after he sent the signal "England expects every Man will do his Duty.", as quoted in The Life of Admiral Lord Nelson, K.B. from His Lordship's Manuscripts (1810) by James Stanier Clarke and John McArthur, p. 667
The Battle of Trafalgar (1805)

“England expects every Man will do his Duty.”

Famous signal to the British fleet before the battle of Trafalgar, as quoted in Life of Nelson, Ch. 9; Initially dictated as: "England confides that every man shall do his duty." The signaller pointed out that "expects" was in the signals alphabet, but "confides" was not and so had to be spelt out, taking longer, and Nelson agreed to the change.
Variant:
England expects every officer and man to do his duty this day.
As reported in The London Times (26 December 1805)
The Battle of Trafalgar (1805)

“Wherever there is anything to be done, there Providence is sure to direct my steps.”

Letter to his wife, Frances Nelson (2 August 1796), as published in The Dispatches and Letters of Vice Admiral Lord Viscount Nelson with Notes (1845) edited Nicholas Harris Nicolas, Vol. II : 1795-1797, p. 203
1790s
Contesto: !-- Had all my actions, my dearest Fanny, been gazetted, not one fortnight would have passed during the whole war without a letter from me: one day or other I will have a long Gazette to myself; I feel that such an opportunity will be given me. --> I cannot, if I am in the field for glory, be kept out of sight. Probably my services may be forgotten by the great, by the time I get Home; but my mind will not forget, nor cease to feel, a degree of consolation and of applause superior to undeserved rewards. Wherever there is anything to be done, there Providence is sure to direct my steps. Credit must be given me in spite of envy. <!-- Even the French respect me: their Minister at Genoa, in answering a Note of mine, when returning some wearing apparel that had been taken, said, ‘Your Nation, Sir, and mine, are made to show examples of generosity, as well as of valour, to all the people of the earth.

“To leave off action"? Well, damn me if I do! You know, Foley, I have only one eye,— I have a right to be blind sometimes . . . I really do not see the signal!”

At the battle of Copenhagen, Ignoring Admiral Parker's signal to retreat, holding his telescope up to his blind eye, and proceeding to victory against the Danish fleet. (2 April 1801); as quoted in Life of Nelson, Ch. 7
1800s
Contesto: To leave off action"? Well, damn me if I do! You know, Foley, I have only one eye,— I have a right to be blind sometimes... I really do not see the signal!

“I cannot, if I am in the field for glory, be kept out of sight.”

Letter to his wife, Frances Nelson (2 August 1796), as published in The Dispatches and Letters of Vice Admiral Lord Viscount Nelson with Notes (1845) edited Nicholas Harris Nicolas, Vol. II : 1795-1797, p. 203
1790s
Contesto: !-- Had all my actions, my dearest Fanny, been gazetted, not one fortnight would have passed during the whole war without a letter from me: one day or other I will have a long Gazette to myself; I feel that such an opportunity will be given me. --> I cannot, if I am in the field for glory, be kept out of sight. Probably my services may be forgotten by the great, by the time I get Home; but my mind will not forget, nor cease to feel, a degree of consolation and of applause superior to undeserved rewards. Wherever there is anything to be done, there Providence is sure to direct my steps. Credit must be given me in spite of envy. <!-- Even the French respect me: their Minister at Genoa, in answering a Note of mine, when returning some wearing apparel that had been taken, said, ‘Your Nation, Sir, and mine, are made to show examples of generosity, as well as of valour, to all the people of the earth.

“My character and good name are in my own keeping. Life with disgrace is dreadful. A glorious death is to be envied,”

Letter from Agamemnon at sea (10 March 1795), in Nelson's letters to his wife and other documents, 1785-1831 edited by Navy Records Society, p. 199
1790s
Contesto: The lives of all are in the hands of Him who knows best whether to preserve it or no, and to His will do I resign myself. My character and good name are in my own keeping. Life with disgrace is dreadful. A glorious death is to be envied, and, if anything happens to me recollect death is a debt we must all pay, and whether now or in a few years hence can be but of little consequence.

“The bravest man feels an anxiety 'circa praecordia' as he enters the battle; but he dreads disgrace yet more.”

Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan, The Life of Nelson: The Embodiment of the Sea Power of Great Britain, Volume 2. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1897, p. 52; attributed by Mahan to Locker's Greenwich Gallery article "Torrington".
1800s

“I cannot command winds and weather.”

As quoted in Letters and Despatches of Horatio, Viscount Nelson, K.B. (1886) edited by John Knox Laughton, p. 99
1800s

“Before this time to-morrow I shall have gained a peerage, or Westminster Abbey.”

Before the Battle of the Nile (1 August 1797), as quoted in Life of Nelson, Ch. 5; alternately reported as "Westminster Abbey, or victory!"
1790s

“Something must be left to chance; nothing is sure in a sea fight above all.”

Before the battle of Trafalgar [citation needed]
The Battle of Trafalgar (1805)

“This is too warm work, Hardy, to last long.”

citation needed
The Battle of Trafalgar (1805)

“There is in the handling of these Transatlantic ships a nucleus of trouble for the Navy of Great Britain.”

On American ships sighted sometime between 1801 and 1803, as quoted in The Royal Navy: Its Influence in English History and in the Growth of Empire https://books.google.com/books?id=mlNnAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA149 (1914) by John Leyland
1800s

“Victory or Westminster Abbey.”

Life of Nelson Vol. I, Ch. 4 : In the battle off Cape Vincent, giving order for boarding the San Josef
1800s

“In honour I gained them, and in honour I will die with them.”

Life of Nelson (ch. 9), when asked to cover the stars on his uniform to hide his rank during battle.
1800s

“The business of the English Commander-in-Chief being first to bring an Enemy's Fleet to Battle, on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his Ships close on board the Enemy, as expeditiously as possible;) and secondly, to continue them there, without separating, until the business is decided.”

"Plan of Attack" (1805), drawn up during pursuit of the French fleet to the West Indies, as published in The Dispatches and Letters of Vice Admiral Lord Viscount Nelson with Notes (1866) edited by Sir Nicholas Harris Nicolas, Vol. VI : May 1804 - July 1805, p. 443
The Battle of Trafalgar (1805)

“Let me alone, I have yet my legs left, and one arm. Tell the surgeon to make haste and get his instruments. I know I must lose my right arm, so the sooner it is off the better.”

After being wounded during the attack on Santa Cruz de Tenerife (24 July 1797), as quoted in The Dispatches and Letters of Vice Admiral Lord Viscount Nelson with Notes (1845) edited Nicholas Harris Nicolas, Vol. II : 1795-1797, p. 423
1790s

“I am Lord Nelson. See, here's my fin.”

Indicating his stub of his missing arm during the battle of Copenhagen, as quoted in Nelson and the Hamiltons (1969) by Jack Russell, p. 238
1800s

“Success, I trust — indeed have little doubt — will crown our zealous and well-meant endeavours: if not, our Country will, I believe, sooner forgive an Officer for attacking his Enemy than for letting it alone.”

Statement regarding the attack on Bastia, Corsica (3 May 1794), as published in The Dispatches and Letters of Vice Admiral Lord Viscount Nelson with Notes (1845) edited by Sir Nicholas Harris Nicolas, Vol. I : 1777-1794, p. 393
1790s

“I am myself a Norfolk man.”

On being welcomed on arrival in Great Yarmouth, in his home county [citation needed]
1790s

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