Phalange, and I was often seen at mass. For months I had been friendly with insurgent leaders who were feared by all the suspects. And yet people I hardly knew spoke freely to me, when the slightest indiscretion on my part would have cost their liberty, or their lives. I'll tell you why it was. It was because it is still known in the world that a Frenchman doesn't let himself become a policeman's pawn - that's why. Because a Frenchman is a free man." - Meaning and context.">
p.109
“

Everybody in Palma knew that my son was a lieutenant in the Phalange, and I was often seen at mass. For months I had been friendly with insurgent leaders who were feared by all the suspects. And yet people I hardly knew spoke freely to me, when the slightest indiscretion on my part would have cost their liberty, or their lives. I'll tell you why it was. It was because it is still known in the world that a Frenchman doesn't let himself become a policeman's pawn - that's why. Because a Frenchman is a free man.

— Georges Bernanos

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Everybody in Palma knew that my son was a lieutenant in the Phalange, and I was often seen at mass. For months I had been friendly with insurgent leaders who were feared by all the suspects. And yet people I hardly knew spoke freely to me, when the slightest indiscretion on my part would have cost their liberty, or their lives. I'll tell you why it was. It was because it is still known in the world that a Frenchman doesn't let himself become a policeman's pawn - that's why. Because a Frenchman is a free man." in the context of "p.109" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Georges Bernanos" (Quotes, Les grands cimetieres sous la lune (A Diary of My Times) 1938: [Note by Pamela Morris, translator of the book into English: "When the Spanish Civil War broke out Bernanos was living in Palma, Majorca. It was in Majorca that Bernanos watched the civil war, or rather, since the island fell almost at once into the hands of the Fascists - watched terrorism eating its way into this community." , A Diary of My Times, English translation, London 1938, p. 12) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Georges Bernanos

About Georges Bernanos

Georges Bernanos (20 February 1888 – 5 July 1948) was a French writer. A Roman Catholic and royalist, his novel The Diary of a Country Priest was filmed by Robert Bresson.