"If they want peace, nations should avoid the pin-pricks that precede cannon shots"

This quote by Napoleon Bonaparte is a cautioning to nations that if they wish to maintain peace, they need to prevent any small, apparently irrelevant actions that could cause a bigger dispute. Napoleon is suggesting that nations need to know the prospective repercussions of their actions and bear in mind how their actions might be translated by other countries. He is cautioning that small, seemingly insignificant actions, such as pin-pricks, can cause larger conflicts, such as a war. This quote is a pointer that nations ought to know the potential repercussions of their actions and be mindful of how their actions could be translated by other countries. It is a suggestion that even little actions can have big consequences which nations must beware to prevent any actions that could lead to a bigger dispute.