PÉTAIN Philippe (1856-1951). L. A. S., 22 August 1932, to Charles de Gaulle; 2 pages in-8 on his letterhead Le Maréchal Pétain. About Fil de l'épée and its dedication. The original edition of Le Fil de l'épée was dedicated "To Marshal Pétain. This essay, Monsieur le Maréchal, can only be dedicated to you, for nothing shows, better than your glory, what virtue action can derive from the light of thought". This dedication disappeared from later editions. "My dear de Gaulle I have just finished reading your book, Le Fil de l'Épée, which I find quite remarkable in both form and content. I reserve all my criticism for the dedication, which I urge you to change. Nothing is easier than to stick a piece of paper over the words 'mieux que votre gloire' (better than your glory) or simply a black line on the volumes that are still with the publisher. Note that the sentence will gain a lot from this deletion; it will place me in a simpler frame where I feel more at ease and therefore more sympathetic"...