“by making himself a priest made himself a demon.”

“And, moreover, when it happens that both are sincere and good, nothing will mix and amalgamate more easily than an old priest and an old soldier. In reality, they are the same kind of man. One has devoted himself to country upon earth, the other to his country in heaven; there is no other difference.”

“Desiring always to be in mourning, he clothed himself with night.”

“As he wished always to appear in mourning, he clothed himself with the night.”

“Every blade has two edges; he who wounds with one wounds himself with the other.”

“An opulent priest is a contradiction.”

“He loved to saunter through fields of wild oats and corn-flowers, and busied himself with clouds nearly as much as with events.”