He who is required by the necessity of his position to speak the highest things is compelled by the same necessity to exemplify the highest things.
Pope Gregory IThe pastor should always be pure in thought ... no impurity ought to pollute him who has undertaken the office of wiping away the stains in the hearts of others ... for the hand that would cleanse from dirt must be clean, lest, being itself sordid with clinging mire, it soil whatever it touches all the more.
Pope Gregory IThe human mind is prone to pride even when not supported by power; how much more, then, does it exalt itself when it has that support?
Pope Gregory I