Charles de Gaulle — "The sword is the axis of the world and the spirit its balance."
The sword is the axis of the world and the spirit its balance.
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More from Charles de Gaulle
"To be great, one must be misunderstood."
"The difficult thing in politics is not to know what to do, but to do it."
"The world is full of people who are always waiting for someone else to do something."
"We are not alone. We are not alone. And we will not be alone."
"The prestige of France derives from the courage of its soldiers."
About Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970)
French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces from London during WWII and founded France's Fifth Republic in 1958. Closely associated with Winston Churchill (wartime British ally and rival) and Konrad Adenauer (postwar German Chancellor and reconciliation partner). For an intellectual contrast, see Philippe Pétain, Marshal of France and Vichy collaborationist head of state — Pétain's June 1940 armistice with Nazi Germany was the surrender de Gaulle's London BBC broadcasts publicly rejected — postwar French identity is structured around which one was right, the surrender path or the resistance.