A Gothic building engenders true religion ... The light, falling through colored glass, the singular forms of the architecture, unite to give a silent image of that infinite mystery which the soul for ever feels, and never comprehends.

The voice of conscience is so delicate that it is easy to stifle it; but it is also so clear that it is impossible to mistake it.

Sow good services: sweet remembrances will grow from them.

intellect is a sin that must be atoned for by leading exactly the life of those who have none.

Self-love, so sensitive in its own cause, has rarely any sympathy to spare for others.

Conversation as talent exists only in France. In other countries, conversation provides politeness, discussion, and friendship; in France, it is an art for which imagination and soul are certainly very welcome, but which can also provide its own secret remedies to compensate you for the absence of either or both, if you so desire.

Morality must guide calculation, and calculation must guide politics.