“Good actions are the invisible hinges on the doors of heaven.”

“A reflection from this heaven shone upon the bishop. But it was also a luminous transparency, for this heaven was within him: this heaven was his conscience.”

“A man is not idle because he is absorbed in thought. There is visible labor and there is invisible labor.”

“A doctor’s door should never be closed, a priest's door should always be open.”

“This is the shade of meaning: the door of a physician should never be closed; the door of a priest should always be open.”

“This is the shade of difference: the door of the physician should never be shut, the door of the priest should always be open.”

“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.”