BERNANOS Georges (1888-1948). L. A. S., Bandol, 6 April 1946, to General de Gaulle; 2 pages in-4. Important letter about his refusal of the Légion d'honneur, with a beautiful tribute to the General. Bernanos had received "a letter from the Grand Chancellery of the Legion of Honour" informing him that it was the General who had kindly signed the decree appointing him: "The honour today, for a Frenchman, is not to receive the Legion of Honour, it is to receive it from your hand". However, he came to ask the General for "permission to persist in [his] refusal". He made it clear that this was not his first refusal (already in 1926, 1937 and 1940): "I'm getting to the age where a writer must avoid even the slightest hint of equivocation. For me, the Légion d'honneur is like the Académie, which I have also just refused. I don't allow myself to disdain them, I don't think they suit me, and I don't think they suit me. In this respect, he has "always thought, moreover, that the Legion of Honour should be reserved for the military". He continues: "I would have been only too happy to win it in combat, like my modest cross in the other war, and under your command, in other words under the command of the man who will undoubtedly be the last great soldier in the history of France. Unless... But you don't tell the future to someone who may have it in his hands"... At the top, de Gaulle wrote: "I answered C. G.". A photocopy of General de Gaulle's reply is attached: "I hope that you will retain the essential content of my intention, which was to pay public and personal tribute to you and your 'services'. That said, - if you don't mind - I bow to your refusal"...