“To be a saint is the exception; to be an upright man is the rule. Err, fall, sin if you will, but be upright.”

“To be a saint is the exception; to be a just person is the rule. Err, stumble, commit sin, but be one of the just.”

“The souls of the upright in sleep have vision of a mysterious heaven.”

“To err is human. To loaf is Parisian.”

“To commit the least possible sin is the law for man. To live without sin is the dream of an angel. Everything terrestrial is subject to sin. Sin is a gravitation.”

“I mean that man is ruled by a tyrant whose name is Ignorance, and that is the tyrant I sought to overthrow. That is the tyrant which gave birth to monarchy, and monarchy is authority based on falsehood, whereas knowledge is authority based on truth. Man should be ruled by knowledge.”

“Then, turning to his sister: "Sister, never a precaution on the part of the priest, against his fellow-man. That which his fellow does, God permits. Let us confine ourselves to prayer, when we think that a danger is approaching us. Let us pray, not for ourselves, but that our brother may not fall into sin on our account.”