In the tumult of great events, solitude was what I hoped for. Now it is what I love. How is it possible to be contented with anything else when one has come face to face with history?

It is better to have a bad method than to have none.

I have heard your views. They do not harmonize with mine. The decision is taken unanimously.

There can be no prestige without mystery, for familiarity breeds contempt.

War stirs in men's hearts the mud of their worst instincts. It puts a premium on violence, nourishes hatred, and gives free rein to cupidity. It crushes the weak, exalts the unworthy, and bolsters tyranny .. .Time and time again it has destroyed all ordered living, devastated hope, and put the prophets to death.

The leader must aim high, see big, judge widely, thus setting himself apart form the ordinary people who debate in narrow confines.

As an adolescent I was convinced that France would have to go through gigantic trials, that the interest of life consisted in one day rendering her some signal service and that I would have the occasion to do so.