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.

Nothing great will ever be achieved without great men, and men are great only if they are determined to be so.

Yes, it is Europe, from the Atlantic to the Urals, it is Europe, it is the whole of Europe, that will decide the fate of the world.

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.

In the tumult of men and events, solitude was my temptation; now it is my friend. What other satisfaction can be sought once you have confronted History?

China is a big country, inhabited by many Chinese.

I wouldn't mind dying for France, but not for Air France.