The heart is commonly reached, not through the reason, but through the imagination, by means of direct impressions, by the testimony of facts and events, by history, by description. Persons influence us, voices melt us, looks subdue us, deeds inflame us. Many a man will live and die upon a dogma; no man will be a martyr for a conclusion.

Thought and speech are inseparable from each other. Matter and expression are parts of one; style is a thinking out into language.

You must be patient, you must wait for the eye of the soul to be formed in you. Religious truth is reached, not by reasoning, but by an inward perception. Anyone can reason; only disciplined, educated, formed minds can perceive.

God has created me to do Him some definite service; He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission.

Life passes, riches fly away, popularity is fickle, the senses decay, the world changes. One alone is true to us; One alone can be all things to us; One alone can supply our need.

The love of our private friends is the only preparatory exercise for the love of all men.

Conscience is the aboriginal Vicar of Christ.