It is not tolerable, it is not possible, that from so much death, so much sacrifice and ruin, so much heroism, a greater and better humanity shall not emerge.

Men are of no importance. What counts is who commands.

Belgium is a country invented by the British to annoy the French.

One must wait until the evening to see how splendid the day was; one cannot judge life until death.

How can anyone govern a nation that has two hundred and forty-six 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?

I predict you will sink step by step into a bottomless quagmire, however much you spend in men and money." (On Vietnam War)