A hand mirror leans beside a weathered wooden box on a moss-green surface.

Original artwork, not a still

La joie (Joy) 1929

Georges Bernanos

First of all, be what you are.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

Before anything else, the speaker urges, be your genuine self. The line puts authenticity first, ahead of any other aim or virtue, and implies that whatever else one attempts should rest on honesty about who one is rather than on pretence.

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