Anatole FRANCE (1844-1924). Autograph manuscript, Toast given at the banquet for Georg Brandès, March 10, 1902; 3 small leaves in-4. Draft, with erasures and corrections, of a fine tribute to Danish critic Georg Brandès (1842-1927). "Ajax, in Sophocles' tragedy, says, with all Hellenic finesse, that he had long believed that men were driven by action, but that he realized they were driven by speech. [...] Speech leads the world. This is why, Georg Brandès, curious to know and expose the great movements of men and societies in this century, you have studied the works of writers in preference to the lives of men of action, knowing that thoughts explain acts, which have no meaning in themselves"... He praises his critical, historical and philosophical work, and especially honors the character of Brandès, equal to his talent: "I drink to George Brandès who, living in an age of democracy, has never flattered the people".