GAULLE Charles de. Autograph notebook of personal notes. Begun in the summer of 1916, continued during his years in captivity, then resumed in January 1919. Notebook in-8 (18.2 x 11.5 cm), 152 handwritten pages (76 ff.) on 80 leaves. A very important and rich notebook of notes and quotations by Charles de Gaulle, providing us with information on his reading, research and thoughts during this period of forced inactivity. The first part of the notebook consists of notes taken while reading a book on Greek history. These include geographical considerations of the Hellenistic region, the Median Wars (490-479), Salamis and Plataea (480-479), the supremacy of Athens (479-431), the jealousy of Sparta (431-404) and the Peloponnesian War. These comments are followed by a pell-mell of various historical notes, mainly concerning the beginning of the 19th century and significant figures in the Napoleonic epic: Berthier, Clarke, Oudinot, Lannes, Augereau, Gouvion Saint-Cyr, Lefebvre, Siéyès, Duroc, Mortier, M. de Rémusat, M. de Narbonne, Madame de Staël, Benjamin Constant, Mme Tallien, Chateaubriand, Garat - who was Grand-Juge under Napoleon -, Lacépède, Cardinal Fesch, Fouquier-Tinville... but also from the Second Empire: the Empress Eugénie, the Duchesse d'Albe, Prince Napoléon, known as "Plon-Plon", the Princess of Metternich, Queen Victoria, Madame de Castiglione... and the Third Republic: Gambetta, Grévy, the Duc d'Audiffret-Pasquier, Ledru... The Marquis de Laborde, the Marquis de Piennes, the Duc de Broglie, the Duc de Richelieu and others are also mentioned in an Ancien Régime tone. Charles de Gaulle also includes brief biographical summaries of historical figures. For example, he mentions "Father Lacordaire [...] who delivered a famous sermon at Saint-Roch on 'the dignity of character', which caused quite a stir in public opinion. [He accepted the directorship of the reconstituted Sorèze college [...], was admitted to the Académie française around 1860, in Tocqueville's chair, [...] had an extreme admiration for Chateaubriand [...]".In a completely different vein, he refers to the Aryan people who "came down to India from the plateaux of Iran [...] were led by Rama [...], and had Brahmins as their priests [...]" He adds: "what was marvellous about this religion of the three gods was that it adapted perfectly to the form of caste society as the Indians, under the influence of the Brahmins, conceived it. " A large part of the notebook is devoted to reading notes and an analysis of Friedrich von Bernhardi's Germany and the Coming War (1912). He gives a brief summary of each chapter, which are entitled: The Right to War, the Duty of War; A Short Survey of Germany's Historical Development; Germany's Historical Mission; To Be a World Power or to Disappear; The Social and Political Importance of Preparing for War; The Character of Our Next War; The Next War at Sea; What It's All About; Considerations on the Organization of the Army; Training; Preparing for Naval War; Military Strength and Public Education; Financial and Political Preparation for War. Friedrich von Bernhardi (1849-1930) was a German writer and general, and a theorist of Pangermanism. He emphasised that "war is now waged with the masses and over immense spaces. But since victory is always achieved by concentrating forces superior to those of the adversary at the decisive point and time, the victor will be the one - with a command of equal value - who has more easily manageable masses. [...] Lastly, it is essential that all those in command, from top to bottom, have a strong personality, initiative and character. Other considerations, foreshadowing his future themes, appear in several places in the notebook. For example: "You have to be a man of character. The best way to succeed in action is to know how to constantly dominate yourself, or better still, it's an indispensable condition. But self-control must become a kind of habit, a moral reflex, obtained by constant gymnastics of the will, particularly in small matters: dress, conversation, thought control, a method sought after and applied in all things, particularly in work. You must speak little, you absolutely must. The advantage of being a brilliant conversationalist is not worth a hundredth of that of being inward-looking, even from the point of view of general influence. In a man of value, thought must be concentrated. Other people are not mistaken. And in action, you must say nothing. The leader is the one who doesn't talk". Our precious document also tells us about Charles de Gaulle's reading during this period, mentioning the following works (listed here in non-exhaustive order): Le Rouge et le Noir by Stendhal ("The hero's character is well-defined and interesting, though really complicated and too Machiavellian for his age. [); l'Éducation sentimentale by Gustave Flaubert; Les sables mouvants by Colette Yver; En ménage by Huysmans; Le Salon du Quai Voltaire by Jules Case; an article by Gaston Rageot on Lloyd George; La Veillée des armes by Marcelle Tinayre... It is interesting to see comments on art in general - a field in which we are less likely to find Charles de Gaulle - ("Architecture alone gives rise to the minor arts. A piece of furniture never has any style other than that of a contemporary monument") and sculpture in particular. In "Rodin's talks on art", he notes that the artist "likes to emphasise the idea that a work of art, while reproducing nature, must not slavishly copy an attitude. Indeed, he says, art does not exist without movement, and movement is the passage from one attitude to another. But if the work merely reproduces one attitude, as in photography, it does not give the impression of movement and is therefore not a work of art. Finally, this manuscript reveals a few dazzling thoughts and quotations: "The indefinable splendour of those destined for great undertakings" (Flaubert) or "The crowing of the Gallic cockerel has at last brought forth the sun of revenge." This formidable, eclectic and rich document, which has survived successive excavations by German guards, provides us with information about Charles de Gaulle's historical, geographical, artistic, political, philosophical and literary tastes. LNC, I, p. 267 to 326 then p. 444 to 446.