Charles Peguy

Charles Pguy (January 7, 1873-September 4, 1914) was a noted French poet and essayist. His two main inspirations were socialism and nationalism, but by 1908 at the latest, he had became a devout but non-practicing Catholic. From then on, Catholicism had an major influence on his works.

6 Quotes

The honest man must be a perpetual renegade, the life of an honest man a perpetual infidelity. For the man who wishes to remain faithful must take himself perpetually unfaithful to all the continual, successive, indefatigable, renascent errors.

Charles Peguy

Love is rarer than genius itself. And friendship is rarer than love.

Charles Peguy

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

Charles Peguy

Tyranny is always better organized than freedom.

Charles Peguy

Short of genius a rich man cannot even imagine poverty.

Charles Peguy

We said that a single injustice, a single crime, a single illegality, particularly if it is officially recorded, confirmed, a single wrong to humanity, a single wrong to justice and to right, particularly if it is universally, legally, nationally, commodiously accepted, that a single crime shatters and is sufficient to shatter the whole social pact, the whole social contract, that a single legal crime, a single dishonorable act will bring about the loss of ones honor, the dishonor of a whole people. It is a touch of gangrene that corrupts the entire body.

Charles Peguy