The more a man loves, the more he suffers. The sum of possible grief for each soul is in proportion to its degree of perfection.

What we call little things are merely the causes of great things; they are the beginning, the embryo, and it is the point of departure which, generally speaking, decides the whole future of an existence. One single black speck may be the beginning of gangrene, of a storm, of a revolution.

To live we must conquer incessantly, we must have the courage to be happy.

I'm not interested in age. People who tell me their age are silly. You're as old as you feel.

The only substance properly so called is the soul.

From every spot on earth we are equally near heaven and the infinite.

The efficacy of religion lies precisely in what is not rational, philosophic, nor eternal; its efficacy lies in the unforeseen, the miraculous, the extraordinary. Thus religion attracts more devotion according as it demands more faith - that is to say, as it becomes more incredible to the profane mind.