Léon Werth

“Dignity isn't measured arithmetically. The smaller the event, the better one grasps the nuances of freedom and dignity. I sensed at that moment that I belonged to a people who were recognizing nuances. I remembered that while I was doing my military service and adjutant called to me in the courtyard and ordered me to go to his room and polish his shoes. I refused. Having exhausted threats of the rights of the Military Code, he gave in to astonishment and a sort of curiosity that I must call psychological. I explained to him that the act of shining shoes seemed in no way beneath me, that I willingly polished my barracks mate's shoes if he was late for inspection or too drunk to do this task himself. but I would not be ordered to shine shoes. I was not shot or punished.”
― Léon Werth, 33 Days: A Memoir

“J'ai médité la mort. Je me suis imaginé n'existant pas, gardant le regret de n'exister pas, emportant dans mon cercueil le souvenir de la vie, comme une bague reste au doigt d'un cadavre.”
― Léon Werth