“You may be sure that the Americans will commit all the stupidities they can think of, plus some that are beyond imagination.”

Adversity attracts the man of character. He seeks out the bitter joy of responsibility.

Treaties are like roses and young girls. They last while they last.

One can unite the French only under the threat of danger. One cannot simply bring together a nation that produces 265 kinds of cheese.

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?

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.

It’s better to have a bad plan then no plan at all.

The better I get to know men, the more I find myself loving dogs.

It’s impossible in normal times to rally a nation that has 265 kinds of cheese.

Victory often goes to the army that makes the least mistakes, not the most brilliant plans.

He who laughs last didn’t get the joke.

A true leader always keeps an element of surprise up his sleeve, which others cannot grasp but which keeps his public excited and breathless.

The true statesman is the one who is willing to take risks.

Whereas ordinary officers must be content with behaving correctly in front of their men, the great leaders have always carefully stage-managed their effects.

No, I’m not talking about the Russians; I mean the Germans. In spite of everything, to have pushed so far!

Deliberation is a function of the many; action is the function of one.

I wouldn’t mind dying for France, but not for Air France.

Anyone can quit, but it takes a strong, committed person not to quit when times are tough.

If you decide to plant a seed, commit to watering it.

Unless I understand the Cross, I cannot understand why my commitment to what is right must be precedence over what I prefer.

We commit two wrongs when we fail to right a wrong.

I also do my own processing, so it means a big commitment in lab time.

Everybody comes into a relationship with baggage. We can either trip over each other’s stuff, or unpack it together.

We become whatever we are committed to.

Nothing shapes your life more than the commitments you choose to make.