Newton, Pascal, Bossuet, Racine, F?nelon -- that is to say, some of the most enlightened men on earth, in the most philosophical of all ages -- have been believers in Jesus Christ; and the great Cond?, when dying, repeated these noble words, "Yes, I shall see God as He is, face to face!".

We can love with all our hearts those in whom we recognize great faults. It would be impertinent to believe that perfection alone has the right to please us; sometimes our weaknesses attach us to each other as much as our virtues.

The young suffer less from their own errors than from the cautiousness of the old.

Neither the gifts nor the blows of fortune equal those of nature.

Our failings sometimes bind us to one another as closely as could virtue itself.

We are less hurt by the contempt of fools than by the lukewarm approval of men of intelligence.

It is good to be firm by temperament and pliant by reflection.