Virtue is nothing without the trial of temptation, for there is no conflict without an enemy, no victory without strife.

The cross of Christ is the true ground and chief cause of Christian hope.

Each needs the other: capital cannot do without labor, nor labor without capital.

Truth, which is simple and one, admits of no variety.

As the world attracts us with its appearance, and abundance and variety, it is not easy to turn away from it unless in the beauty of things visible the Creator rather than the creature is loved; for, when He says, 'you shall love the Lord your God from all your heart, and from all your mind, and from all your strength' (Mt. 22:37), He wishes us in nothing to loosen ourselves from the bonds of His love. And when He links the love of our neighbor also to this command, He enjoins on us the imitation of His own goodness, that we should love what He loves and do what He does.

Let no one be ashamed of the cross by which Christ has redeemed the world. None of us must be afraid to suffer for the sake of justice or doubt the fulfillment of the promises, for it is through toil that we come to rest and through death that we pass to life.

The faith by which we live shall never vary in any age . . . for one is the faith which sanctifies the Just of all ages.