What is said about men often has as much influence upon their lives, and especially upon their destinies, as what they do.

To destroy abuses is not enough; Habits must also be changed. The windmill has gone, but the wind is still there." ~old man G--- to Monseigneur Bienvenu Myriel

The memory of an absent person shines in the deepest recesses of the heart, shining the more brightly the more wholly its object has vanished: a light on the horizon of the despairing, darkened spirit; a star gleaming in our inward night.

We are not loved by our friends for what we are; rather, we are loved in spite of what we are.

Paris is a sum total. Paris is the ceiling of the human race. All this prodigious city is an epitome of dead and living manners and customs. He who sees Paris, seems to see all history through with the sky and constellations in the intervals.

As for methods of prayer, all of them are good as long as they are sincere.

The word is the Verb, and the Verb is God.