Woman is the salvation or the destruction of the family. She carries its destiny in the folds of her mantle.

To be misunderstood even by those whom one loves is the cross and bitterness of life. It is the secret of that sad and melancholy smile on the lips of great men which so few understand; it is the cruelest trial reserved for self-devotion; it is what must have oftenest wrung the heart of the Son of man; and if God could suffer, it would be the wound we should be forever inflicting upon Him. He also - He above all - is the great misunderstood, the least comprehended.

Melancholy is at the bottom of everything, just as at the end of all rivers is the sea. Can it be otherwise in a world where nothing lasts, where all that we have loved or shall love must die? Is death, then, the secret of life? The gloom of an eternal mourning enwraps, more or less closely, every serious and thoughtful soul, as night enwraps the universe.

What we do not understand we have no right to judge

To be always ready a man must be able to cut a knot, for everything cannot be untied.

Put personal ambition away from you, and then you will find consolation in living or in dying, whatever may happen to you.

There are 2 sorts of pride: one in which we approve others, the other in which we cannot accept ourselves.