I am not only not prepared to bring forward any measure of this nature, but I will at once declare that, as far as I am concerned, as long as I hold any station in the Government of the country, I shall always feel it my duty to resist such measures when proposed by others.

I used to say of him that his presence on the field made the difference of forty thousand men.

The French system of conscription brings together a fair sample of all classes; ours is composed of the scum of the earth - the mere scum of the earth. It is only wonderful that we should be able to make so much out of them afterwards.

A great country ought not to make little wars.

I have seen their backs before.

Believe me that every man you see in a military uniform is not a hero.

It is not the business of generals to shoot one another.