“We may go to the moon, but that’ s not very far. The greatest distance we have to cover still lies within us.”

A great country worthy of the name does not have any friends.

To govern is always to choose among disadvantages.

Diplomats are useful only in fair weather. As soon as it rains they drown in every drop.

A man of character finds a special attractiveness in difficulty, since it is only by coming to grips with difficulty that he can realize his potentialities.

I have come to the conclusion that politics are too serious a matter to be left to the politicians.

Greatness is a road leading towards the unknown.

How can one conceive of a one-party system in a country that has over two hundred varieties of cheese?

At the root of our civilization, there is the freedom of each person of thought, of belief, of opinion, of work, of leisure.

Only by coming to grips with difficulty can you realize your full potential.

Genius sometimes consists of knowing when to stop.

My dear and old country, here we are once again together faced with a heavy trial.

The desire of privilege and the taste of equality are the dominant and contradictory passions of the French of all times.

All my life I have had a certain idea of France.

You’ll live. Only the best get killed.

Don’t think of yourself as indispensable or infallible. The cemeteries of the world are full of indispensable men.

Never relinquish the initiative.

Her body is a undiscovered country and she is afraid that someone will colonize it and expect her to thank them for the wreckage.

I discovered I scream the same way whether I’m about to be devoured by a great white shark or if a piece of seaweed touches my foot.

You discover your soul in the quiet moments you spend alone.

Everything you want to be, you already are. You’re simply on the path to discovering it.

I discovered that if one looks a little closer at this beautiful world, there are always red ants underneath.

Make it thy business to know thyself, which is the most difficult lesson in the world

I always want to stay focused on who I am, even as I’m discovering who I am.

Listening only to my instincts, I discovered superb things.