He intended it as an insult; the English, in his mind, were too concerned with the practical matters of life and not at all with grand visions and ambitions.
This is also the man who said "You would make a ship sail against the winds and currents by lighting a bonfire under her deck? I have no time for such nonsense."
> Napoleon called the English "a nation of shopkeepers".
Not a lot has changed, then...
Oh, so that's what A Nation of Shoplifters means! Funny. (It's a song by Carter USM).