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France: A History: from Gaul to de Gaulle QUOTES

France: A History: from Gaul to de Gaulle QUOTES

1 " Finally, has any single man had a greater long-term impact on Europe? In France, faced with the chaos and confusion caused by the Revolution and the Terror, he quickly restored peace, political equilibrium and a strong economy; he established religious freedom, while the concordat, which he signed with Pope Pius VII in 1801, restored good relations between Church and state. He maintained low prices for the basic foods; and he created the Code Napoléon of 1804, which remains the basis of French civil law and that of nearly thirty other countries as well. In Europe, he left a trail of pillage and destruction; but he also spread the revolutionary ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity the length and breadth of the continent, where such concepts were new and challenging indeed. "

― John Julius Norwich , France: A History: from Gaul to de Gaulle

2 " Gaul was, to quote Caesar’s famous opening line ‘divided in three parts’, "

― John Julius Norwich , France: A History: from Gaul to de Gaulle

3 " Three Roman governments were established, for the provinces of Gallia Celtica (with the headquarters of the Governor General in Lyon), Gallia Belgica, corresponding roughly to what is now Belgium, and Aquitania in the south-west corner; "

― John Julius Norwich , France: A History: from Gaul to de Gaulle

4 " unwinding all six foot five of him. "

― John Julius Norwich , France: A History: from Gaul to de Gaulle

5 " consistency, a virtue I have always deplored. "

― John Julius Norwich , France: A History: from Gaul to de Gaulle