Remembering a Veteran: Lt. Charles Péguy, French 276th RI

Before the war, Charles Péguy (1873–1914) was a highly influential writer and editor. He was a socialist, nationalist, and converted Catholic and his work reflected all of these often conflicting viewpoints. A strong French patriot, he answered the call to arms in 1914 and was killed near the village of Villeroy in the opening of the Battle of the Marne. He is buried in a mass grave near the village and a monument to him stands close by.

One of his legacies is an series of memorable quotes that still resonate a century after his death. Like his later fellow socialist, George Orwell, he seems to have provided something for everyone no matter their political persuasion or philosophical temperament. Here is a selection of my favorites.

Villeroy Memorial

• Freedom is a system based on courage.

• He who does not bellow the truth when he knows the truth makes himself the accomplice of liars and forgers

• It will never be known what acts of cowardice have been committed for fear of not looking sufficiently progressive.

• Tyranny is always better organized than freedom.

• Everything begins in mysticism and ends in politics.

• We must always tell what we see. Above all, and this is more difficult, we must always see what we see.

• The honest man must be a perpetual renegade.

• It is better to have a war for justice than peace in injustice.

• Homer is new this morning, and perhaps nothing is as old as today's newspaper.

• It is the essence of genius to make use of the simplest ideas.