L’Œuvre dard

Dans le reportage sur l'incendie de Lunéville, à la télévision, on vit sortir à dos de pompier (il aurait été enchanté) un portrait du maréchal Lyautey (Clemenceau : « Parmi tous mes ministres, il n’y en a qu’un qui ait des couilles au cul, c’est Lyautey – et encore ce ne sont pas les siennes ! ») Mais beaucoup d’œuvres d’art ont péri, sans doute autrement précieuses.

(Renaud Camus. Rannoch Moor. Fayard, 2006, p. 14)

'That was it,' said Umfraville. 'I expect you've heard of a French marshal called Lyautey. Pacified North Africa and all that. Do you know what Lyautey said was the first essential of an officer? Gaiety. That was what Lyautey thought, and he knew his business. His own ideas of gaiety may not have included the charms of the fair sex, but that's another matter. Well, how much gaiety do you find among the palsied crackpots you serve under? Precious little, you can take it from me. It was my intention to master a military career by taking a leaf out of Lyautey's book - not as regards neglecting the ladies, but in other respects.

(Anthony Powell. The Valley of Bones. Heinemann, 1964, p. 152)