I always thought I was Jeanne d'Arc and Bonaparte. How little one knows oneself.
Charles De GaulleRead
I have tried to lift France out of the mud. But she will return to her errors and vomitings. I cannot prevent the French from being French.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects the complexity of national identity and the inability to force change upon a culture due to its inherent nature.
Charles De Gaulle expresses his frustrations with trying to uplift France, highlighting that despite his efforts, the French people are bound to their own cultural tendencies and mistakes. This underscores a philosophical perspective on national identity, suggesting that one cannot fundamentally alter a society's behavior or values against its will, as these traits are ingrained and intrinsic to their collective character.
Themes
FranceIdentityCultureChangeHuman Nature
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about cultural differences during a seminar.
More from Charles De Gaulle
All quotes →Don't ask me who's influenced me. A lion is made up of the lambs he's digested, and I've been reading all my life.
Charles De GaulleRead
Today we are crushed by the sheer weight of the mechanized forces hurled against us, but we can still look to the future in which even greater mechanized forces will bring us victory. Therein lies the destiny of the world.
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The perfection preached in the gospels never yet built an empire. Every man of action has a strong dose of egotism, pride, hardness, and cunning.
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One must wait until the evening to see how splendid the day was; one cannot judge life until death.
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Soyons fermes, purs et fidèles ; au bout de nos peines, il y a la plus grande gloire du monde, celle des hommes qui n'ont pas cédé. [Let us be firm, pure and faithful; at the end of our sorrow, there is the greatest glory of the world, that of the men who did not give in.]
Charles De GaulleRead
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