Society is a republic. When an individual tries to lift themselves above others, they are dragged down by the mass, either by ridicule or slander.
The animal is ignorant of the fact that he knows. The man is aware of the fact that he is ignorant.
Wisdom is a sacred communion.
The omnipotence of evil has never resulted in anything but fruitless efforts. Our thoughts always escape from whoever tries to smother them.
If I speak, I am condemned. If I stay silent, I am damned!
Sometimes he used a spade in his garden, and sometimes he read and wrote. He had but one name for these two kinds of labor; he called them gardening. ‘The Spirit is a garden,’ said he.
Nations, like stars, are entitled to eclipse. All is well, provided the light returns and the eclipse does not become endless night. Dawn and resurrection are synonymous. The reappearance of the light is the same as the survival of the soul.
I was dying when you came.
It is most pleasant to commit a just action which is disagreeable to someone whom one does not like.
Do you hear the people sing Lost in the valley of the night? It is the music of a people Who are climbing to the light. For the wretched of the earth There is a flame that never dies. Even the darkest night will end And the sun will rise.
There are no weeds, and no worthless men. There are only bad farmers.
There are things stronger than the strongest man...
Is it not when the fall is the lowest that charity ought to be the greatest?
If a writer wrote merely for his time, I would have to break my pen and throw it away.
If you are leaving that sorrowful place with hate and anger against men, you are worthy of compassion; if you leave it with good will, gentleness and peace, you are better than any of us.
Men become accustomed to poison by degrees.
The first proof of charity in a priest, especially a bishop, is poverty.
It is the end. But of what? The end of France? No. The end of kings? Yes.
It is often necessary to know how to obey a woman in order sometimes to have the right to command her.
One sees qualities at a distance and defects at close range.