Only peril can bring the French together. One can't impose unity out of the blue on a country that has 265 different kinds of cheese.

Once upon a time there was an old country, wrapped up in habit and caution. We have to transform our old France into a new country and marry it to its time.

Nothing more enhances authority than silence. It is the crowning virtue of the strong, the refuge of the weak, the modesty of the proud, the pride of the humble, the prudence of the wise, and the sense of fools. To speak is to . . . dissipate one's strength; whereas what action demands is concentration. Silence is a necessary preliminary to the ordering of one's thoughts.

I grew up to always respect authority and respect those in charge.

Deliberation is a function of the many; action is the function of one.

Faced with crisis, the man of character falls back upon himself.

For glory gives herself only to those who have always dreamed of her.