I always thought I was Jeanne d'Arc and Bonaparte. How little one knows oneself.
Charles De GaulleRead
When I want to know what France thinks, I ask myself.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests self-reflection as a means to understand a nation's thoughts or sentiments.
Charles De Gaulle emphasizes the importance of introspection and personal perspective over seeking external opinions. By invoking the idea that one's understanding of a country is rooted in personal contemplation, he highlights the subjective nature of knowledge and perception, suggesting that true insight comes from within rather than solely from external sources.
Themes
Self-ReflectionUnderstandingPerceptionThoughtsFranceKnowledge
In practice
Example use cases
During a philosophical discussion on national identity.
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.
Charles De GaulleRead
One must wait until the evening to see how splendid the day was; one cannot judge life until death.
Charles De GaulleRead
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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