GAULLE Charles de. Autograph personal notebook of notes and quotations; begun in April 1920 and continuing, discontinuously, until 1927. Notebook in-8 (21 x 13.5 cm), 32 handwritten pages on 16 sheets. Precious notebook listing the readings, reflections and comments of Charles de Gaulle and accompanied by quotations collected discontinuously between April 1920 and 1927. Here are just a few of the items: May 1920: "[...] Maginot has no character. He is a pure politician. He personally overloads the Legion of Honour lists, etc.". "Read G. Lecomte's book on Clemenceau. It's a panegyric, and a panegyric of the moment (1918). History will tell a fairer and clearer story. G. Lecomte did, however, understand the great, irresistible strength of the Clemenceau of 17-18-19. He was France. "Saw Marshal Pétain. Chatted with him for three minutes. 1921: "G. de la Révolution. Most of them owe their rapid careers to their merit, of course, but also to some particular advantage that immediately draws attention to them. Beauty of Hoche, Marceau, Kléber. Opportunity for Davout who had Dumouriez shot". "For the French race: 'The fusion of three races was to end up forming in us a rare and precious harmony, a sort of perfect chord in which the Celt gives the tonic, the Mediterranean the mediant and the German the dominant' (M. Tarde)." "Officers hope for revenge and glory. The mediocrity of their existence does not matter. What's more, they are given consideration. But after the Dreyfus Affair, the military ideal weakened. A so-called social ideal replaced it. Pacifism also took its toll. August 1923: "Peace is the dream of the wise - War is the history of Men." October 1923: "In times of national peril, after defeats that have exhausted experienced armies and replaced them with new ones, governments always give in to the tendency to give these armies old-fashioned leaders who are more commendable for their experience than for their enthusiasm. The result is a lack of understanding between leaders and troops. The latter quickly lose confidence in soldiers whose faults they only see, and are quick to accuse their generals of softness and discouragement. This is the story of Villeneuve at Trafalgar, of d'Aurelles on the Loire, of Linievitch in Manchuria. "We soldiers are like coats. We are only remembered when it rains". (Marshal of Saxony) 1924: "A great leader needs less virtue than greatness". 1926: "Louvois whom no one loved / And whom everyone regrets. (Anonymous) This is the beautiful epitaph of a statesman." "It is through work that one reigns" (Louis XIV). 1927: "There are three things in war: art, science and craft". (Gouvion Saint-Cyr) "A great fear silences all small fears. (Kipling) "Read Zita de Rédier. "Read the book Nous à qui rien n'appartient by G. de Pourtalès. "Read Verlaine by P. Martino. [...] "The long sobs / Of the violins / Of autumn / Lull my heart / With a languor / Monotonous..." " "Our military history is always the story of one against a hundred. Our naval history is a boat that stands up to the whole English fleet and ends up sinking. A good strategy is to be ten against one at the right moment. (Paul Morand) Yes, and what does a good policy want?" "From 40 to 50: a well-stocked wardrobe, fine cuisine, quality love affairs. From 50 to 60: active secretaries, large expenses, ample conveniences. After: the quietude of leisure, the honours received, the skilful doctors." "In the philosophy of France. A chapter on atmospheres. The various atmospheres of France, environments, regions". "Any event in history in which technology and machines played the slightest role can no longer serve as a model or example for anyone. (Paul Valéry). "Don't forget anything that can make you great" (Stendhal to Delacroix). (Stendhal to Delacroix). "How did you soar so high in the century of pettiness" (Vauvenargues mourning one of his companions). "He who gets used to following will never get ahead" (Michelangelo). (Michelangelo). Missing flyleaf and last page, 3 leaves left blank (torn). LNC, I, pp. 497-498 (April 1920), p. 500 (July and August 1920), pp. 519-524 (1921), pp. 598-599 (August 1923 onwards), pp. 600-603 (1924), p. 661 (December 1926), pp. 662-671 (1927).