Charles De Gaulle
» Action » “Deliberation is the work of many men. Action, of one alone.”
» Action » “Every man of action has a strong dose of egoism, pride, hardness, and cunning. But all those things will be regarded as high qualities if he can make them the means to achieve great ends.”
» Anger » “When I am right, I get angry. Churchill gets angry when he is wrong. So we were often angry at each other.”
» Authority » “Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence.”
» Battles » “France has lost a battle. But France has not lost the war.”
» Character » “Faced with crisis, the man of character falls back on himself. He imposes his own stamp of action, takes responsibility for it, makes it his own.”
» Churches » “Church is the only place where someone speaks to me and I do not have to answer back.”
» Determination » “Nothing great will ever be achieved without great men, and men are great only if they are determined to be so.”
» Diplomacy » “Diplomats are useful only in fair weather. As soon as it rains, they drown in every drop.”
» Glory » “For glory gives herself only to those who have always dreamed of her.”
» Humility » “The graveyards are full of indispensable men.”
» Mastery » “In order to become the master, the politician poses as the servant.”
» Nations » “How can you govern a country with two hundred and forty six varieties of cheese?”
» Nuclear Age » “No country without an atom bomb could properly consider itself independent.”
» Opposition » “I respect only those who resist me; but I cannot tolerate them.”
» Politicians and Politics » “I have come to the conclusion that politics is too serious a matter to be left to the politicians.”
» Politicians and Politics » “Since a politician never believes what he says, he is surprised when others believe him.”
» Silence » “Silence is the ultimate weapon of power.”
» Solitude » “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?”
» World » “The sword is the axis of the world, and grandeur is indivisible.”
