Armies under the control of ... a sovereign State cannot bring freedom to anyone.

Evil being the root of mystery, pain is the root of knowledge.

When once a certain class of people has been placed by the temporal and spiritual authorities outside the ranks of those whose life has value, then nothing comes more naturally to men than murder.

Absolutely unmixed attention is prayer.

Modern life is given over to immoderation. Immoderation invades everything: actions and thought, public and private life.

In solitude we are in the presence of mere matter (even the sky, the stars, the moon, trees in blossom), things of less value (perhaps) than a human spirit. Its value lies in the greater possibility of attention.

Renunciation is submission to time.