It is by teaching that we teach ourselves, by relating that we observe, by affirming that we examine, by showing that we look, by writing that we think, by pumping that we draw water into the well.

Learn to... be what you are, and learn to resign with a good grace all that you are not.

Only evil grows of itself, while for goodness we want effort and courage.

A man must be able to cut a knot, for everything cannot be untied; he must know how to disengage what is essential from the detail in which it is enwrapped, for everything cannot be equally considered; in a word, he must be able to simplify his duties, his business and his life.

Faith is certitude without proofs ... Faith is a sentiment, for it is a hope; it is an instinct, for it precedes all outward instruction.

Righteous ends, thus approved, absolve of guilt the most violent means.

Happiness has no limits, because God has neither bottom nor bounds, and because happiness is nothing but the conquest of God through love.