Speech delivered at l'Académie des Sciences morales et politiques, Oct. 22, 1996.

It is an honor to be invited to speak on the occasion celebrating the admission of Claude Dulong into the Académie des Sciences morales et politiques. And to be permitted to speak in the company of eminent Frenchmen whose contribution to our common Western heritage, cultural as well as political, I have long admired. Indeed were it not the case that Claude and I have been friends for over forty years, I would suspect this is a subtle French plot to demonstrate once again that, in the art of rhetoric and of the analysis of culture, America is still a developing country.

I am certain that my French colleagues here will pay a far more adequate tribute to Claude Dulong's literary achievements than is possible for someone whose excursion into the writing of history has been interrupted by the practice of diplomacy. I have read and greatly appreciated several of Claude's works, especially *L'Amour au XVIIe siècle; La Vie Quotidienne à l'Elysee au temps de Charles de Gaulle; La Dernière Pagode; La Fortune de Mazarin.* But I will leave it to others to discuss these books in detail. Suffice it to say that I found them highly instructive, meticulously researched and extremely well-written.

I am most qualified to speak of my friendship with Claude and later with her husband, Jean Sainteny, as well. A European statesman once told me of a comment made to him regarding Franco-German relations by Charles de Gaulle in 1969 shortly before the great President decided to leave office: "We go through life looking for hidden treasures to find in the end that there are no hidden treasures, and only friendship is left to us."

DeGaulle's remark applies as well to human relations. Whether apocryphal or not, my friendship with Claude belongs to the permanent furniture of my life and will last when many mirages and illusions have evaporated.

We met when I was the director of the Harvard International Seminar - an institution that invited

2

promising younger foreign intellectuals to Harvard
University for a summer program lasting two months.

Claude was quite the most beautiful woman ever to
attend the Harvard Summer School. And if that should not be
considered a sufficient accolade by the exacting standards
of this country, let me add one of the most beautiful women
I have ever met. I say this not to trivialize her role, but
to underline the integrity, indeed the majesty, with which
she bridged the gap between the expectations of Harvard
students when confronted with a beautiful French lady and
her own insistence on being dealt with in terms of her
distinguished and uncompromising intellectual efforts.

Matters came to a head when I asked her to deliver a
lecture on any subject of her choice, so long as it did not
deal with the changing governments of the Fourth Republic,
which were beyond the comprehension of the Harvard students.
As an admirer of de Gaulle, she had no difficulty falling in
with this suggestion, and she selected the topic "Love in
French Literature" -- a forerunner of her later book on the
17th Century. Unfortunately, the juxtaposition of the words
"love" and "France" drove the Harvard student newspaper,
"The Crimson", into juvenile fantasies, and they announced
the lecture under a headline which read: "Beautiful French
girl will lecture on French eroticism". The President of
the university threatened sanctions, first against the
seminar and, once he understood the situation, against the
newspaper. The largest crowd in the history of the seminar
assembled -- literally standing room only.

Claude gave an impeccably academic and extraordinarily
erudite lecture, to the great disappointment of the much of
the audience. In the question period they tried to bring
Claude back to the subject advertised in the newspaper,
causing me to intervene by saying: "Remember, this is a
lecture, not a confession."

Our friendship survived this detour. In the years
after her visit to Harvard, Claude wrote the series of books
for which she is being honored today. At Harvard she was
invited as a promising intellectual. Today, the promise
being fulfilled, she is being honored as one of the lasting
fixtures of French culture.

Over the years I was privileged to witness Claude's
growing intellectual stature and reputation. I rarely came
to Paris without meeting Claude, and our relationship was
soon strengthened by her marriage to Jean Sainteny. My
dominant interest is history and diplomacy. I am therefore

3

somewhat familiar with the ambivalent, occasionally love-
hate relationship existing between our two countries:
France, nationalistic, merging culture and politics, grown
skeptical by many dreams only partially fulfilled and wary
by too many battles fought, the inventors of sovereignty of
the nation-state; and America, pragmatic, impetuous, just
now learning the limits of the possible. We share a common
civilization and we are condemned to march towards parallel
objectives. But our method of thinking is often so
different that we fail to achieve the community that history
in many ways demands of us.

My relationship with Claude and Jean Sainteny testifies
to how these latent tensions can be overcome and put into
the service of greater causes. Devout admirers of de
Gaulle, they never permitted tactical disputes to deflect
them from the vision of a common destiny (much like de
Gaulle himself). I learned much from Jean Sainteny with
respect to Vietnam. Before I entered government he tried to
explain to me the risks as America entered the drama that
was to tear us apart. Like most French familiar with
Vietnam, he was pessimistic about our prospects and thought
our involvement a mistake. But he always left me with a
sense of understanding for the complex task of extrication
from a difficult enterprise and with a realization that the
cause of freedom required us to do so without shaking the
faith of countries whose security depended on America.

When I became National Security Advisor, I invited Jean
Sainteny to the White House to meet President Nixon and to
share with him his views on Indochina. Shortly afterwards,
Nixon and I asked Sainteny to bring a message from our
President to Ho Chi Minh. Though the trip did not take
place and Ho Chi Minh died soon thereafter, Sainteny was
instrumental in bringing about the first meeting between me
and North Vietnamese negotiators. In fact, it took place at
Sainteny's apartment in the Rue Rivoli. The meetings
continued for over three years at other locations until the
conclusion of the agreement in January 1973.

Of course I never doubted that Sainteny's contribution
would not have occurred without the approval and indeed
cooperation of President de Gaulle and later of Pompidou.
Officially the French government expressed its doubts about
our policy. But on substance they provided the logistic
back-up and guarded the secret of the negotiations
meticulously. It was a great example of unity emerging from
diversity.

I use this occasion of the elevation of Claude to the ranks of the Immortals to see in my relationship with the Claude and Jean a macrocosm of the relations between France and the United States. We have our different traditions, histories and viewpoints, but we are also part of the common enterprise called Western civilization.

It remains for me only to thank the distinguished members of the Institute who have permitted me to share this occasion with you and to congratulate both the Academy and Claude on the great occasion we are celebrating here.

1

It is an honor to be invited to speak on the occasion celebrating the admission of Claude Dulong Sainteny into the Académie des Sciences morales et politiques. And to be permitted to speak in the company of eminent Frenchmen whose contribution to our common Western heritage, cultural as well as political, I have long admired. Indeed were it not the case that Claude and I have been friends for over forty years, I would suspect this is a subtle French plot to demonstrate once again that, in the art of rhetoric and of the analysis of culture, America is still a developing country.

I am certain that my French colleagues here will pay a far more adequate tribute to Claude Sainteny's literary achievements than is possible for someone whose excursion into the writing of history has been interrupted by the practice of diplomacy. I have read and greatly appreciated several of Claude's works, especially *L'Amour au XVIIe siècle; La Vie Quotidienne à l'Elysee au temps de Charles de Gaulle; La Dernière Pagode; La Fortune de Mazarin*. But I will leave it to others to discuss these books in detail. Suffice it to say that I found them highly instructive, meticulously researched and extremely well-written.

Claude was quite the most beautiful woman ever to
attend the Harvard Summer School. And if that should not be
considered by the exacting standards of this country a
sufficiently high standard, let me add one of the most
beautiful women I have ever met. I say this not to
trivialize her role, but to underline the integrity, indeed
the majesty, with which she bridged the gap between the
expectations of Harvard students when confronted with a
beautiful French lady and her own insistence on being dealt
with in terms of her distinguished and uncompromising
intellectual efforts.

Over the years I was privileged to witness her growing
intellectual stature and reputation. I rarely came to Paris
without meeting Claude, and our relationship was soon
strengthened by her marriage to Jean Sainteny. My dominant

3

interest is history and diplomacy. I am therefore somewhat
familiar with the ambivalent, occasionally love-hate
relationship existing between our two countries: France,
nationalistic, merging culture and politics, grown skeptical
by many dreams only partially fulfilled and wary by too many
battles fought, the inventors of sovereignty of the nation-
state; and America, pragmatic, impetuous, just now learning
the limits of the possible. We share a common civilization
and we are condemned to march towards parallel objectives.
But our method of thinking is often so different that we
fail to achieve the community that history in many ways
demands of us.

I use this occasion of the elevation of Claude to the ranks of the Immortals to see in my relationship with *the Saintenys* a macrocosm of the relations between France and the United States. We have our different traditions, histories and viewpoints, but we are also part of the common enterprise called Western civilization.

11/4/96 4:30pm

Draft

It is an honor to be invited to speak on the occasion
celebrating the admission of Claude Dulong Sainteny into the
Academy des Sciences morales et politiques. And to be
permitted to speak in the company of eminent Frenchmen whose
contribution to our common Western heritage, cultural as
well as political, I have long admired. Indeed were it not
the case that Claude and I have been friends for over forty
years, I would suspect this is a subtle French plot to
demonstrate once again that, in the art of rhetoric and of
the analysis of culture, America is still a developing
country.

I am certain that my French colleagues here will pay a
far more adequate tribute to Claude Sainteny's literary
achievements than is possible for someone whose excursion
into the writing of history has been interrupted

2

occasionally by the practice of diplomacy. I have read and greatly appreciated several of Claude's works, especially *L'Amour au XVIIe siecle*; *La Vie Quotidienne à l'Elysee au temps de Charles de Gaulle*; *La Dernière Pagode*; *La Fortune de Mazarin*. But I will leave it to others to discuss these books in detail. Suffice it to say that I found them instructive, meticulously researched and well-written.

We met when I was the director of the Harvard International Seminar - an institution that invited promising younger foreign intellectuals to Harvard University for a summer program lasting two months.

Claude was quite the most beautiful woman ever to attend the Harvard Summer School. And if that should not be considered by the existing standards of this country a sufficiently high standard, let me add one of the most beautiful women I have ever met. I say this not to trivialize her role, but to underline the integrity, indeed the majesty, with which she bridged the gap between the expectations of Harvard students when confronted with a

4

beautiful French lady and her own insistence on being dealt with in terms of her distinguished intellectual efforts.

Matters came to a head when I asked her to deliver a lecture on any subject of her choice, so long as it did not deal with the changing governments of the Fourth Republic, which were beyond the comprehension (of the students.) As an admirer of de Gaulle, she had no difficulty falling in with this suggestion, and she selected the topic "Love in French Literature" -- a forerunner of her later book on the 17th Century. Unfortunately, the juxtaposition of the words "love" and "France" drove the Harvard student newspaper, "The Crimson", into juvenile fantasies, and they announced the lecture under a headline which read: "Beautiful French girl will lecture on French eroticism". The President of the university threatened sanctions, first against the seminar and, once he understood the situation, against the

Claude gave her impeccably academic lecture, to the
great disappointment of the much of the audience. In the
question period they tried to bring Claude back to the
subject advertised in the newspaper, causing me to intervene
by saying: "Remember, this is a lecture, not a confession."

privileged &atus
witness

Over the years I was honored to see her growing
intellectual stature and reputation. I rarely came to Paris
without meeting Claude, and our relationship was soon

strengthened by her marriage to Jean Sainteny. My dominant interest is history and diplomacy. I am therefore somewhat familiar with the ambivalent, often love-hate relationship existing between our two countries: France, nationalistic, merging culture and politics, grown skeptical by many dreams only partially fulfilled and wary by too many battles fought, the inventors of sovereignty of the nation-state; and America, pragmatic, impetuous, just now learning the limits of the possible. We share a common civilization and we are condemned to march towards parallel objectives. But our method of thinking is often so different that we fail to achieve the community that history in many ways demands of us.

Gaulle, they never permitted tactical disputes to deflect them from the vision of a common destiny (much like de Gaulle himself). But of course I learned much from Jean Sainteny with respect to Vietnam. Before I entered government he tried to explain to me the drama then unfolding and the risks as America entered that drama that was to tear us apart. Like most French familiar with Vietnam, he was pessimistic about our prospects and thought our involvement a mistake. But he always left me with a sense of compassion for the complex task of extrication from a difficult enterprise and with a realization that the cause of freedom required us to do so without shaking the faith of countries whose security depended on America.

I use this occasion of the elevation of Claude to the ranks of the Immortals to see in my relationship with the Saintenys a macrocosm of the relations between France and the United States. We have our different traditions, histories and viewpoints, but we are also part of the common enterprise called Western civilization.

It remains for me only to thank the distinguished members of the Institute to whom I have permitted me to share this occasion with you and to congratulate both the Academy and Claude on the symbolism we are celebrating here.