Man cannot live without joy; therefore when he is deprived of true spiritual joys it is necessary that he become addicted to carnal pleasures.

Clearly the person who accepts the Church as an infallible guide will believe whatever the Church teaches.

Angels need an assumed body, not for themselves, but on our account.

Because philosophy arises from awe, a philosopher is bound in his way to be a lover of myths and poetic fables. Poets and philosophers are alike in being big with wonder.

It is clear that he does not pray, who, far from uplifting himself to God, requires that God shall lower Himself to him, and who resorts to prayer not to stir the man in us...

It is possible to demonstrate God’s existence, although not a priori, yet a posteriori from some work of His more surely known to us.

It must be said that charity can, in no way, exist along with mortal sin.

As regards the individual nature, woman is defective and misbegotten, for the active power of the male seed tends to the production of a perfect likeness in the masculine sex; while the production of a...

Human salvation demands the divine disclosure of truths surpassing reason.

The truth of our faith becomes a matter of ridicule among the infidels if any Catholic, not gifted with the necessary scientific learning, presents as dogma what scientific scrutiny shows to be false.

Love is a binding force, by which another is joined to me and cherished by myself.

I receive Thee ransom of my soul. For love of Thee have I studied and kept vigil toiled preached and taught…

If, then, you are looking for the way by which you should go, take Christ, because He Himself is the way.

Not everything that is more difficult is more meritorious.

God is never angry for His sake, only for ours.

Three conditions are necessary for Penance: contrition, which is sorrow for sin, together with a purpose of amendment; confession of sins without any omission; and satisfaction by means of good works.

The highest manifestation of life consists in this: that a being governs its own actions. A thing which is always subject to the direction of another is somewhat of a dead thing.

Law is nothing other than a certain ordinance of reason for the common good, promulgated by the person who has the care of the community.

Pray thee, spare, thyself at times: for it becomes a wise man sometimes to relax the high pressure of his attention to work.

A song is the exultation of the mind dwelling on eternal things, bursting forth in the voice.

A man has free choice to the extent that he is rational.

God should not be called an individual substance, since the principal of individuation is matter.

Mercy without justice is the mother of dissolution; justice without mercy is cruelty.

The principal act of courage is to endure and withstand dangers doggedly rather than to attack them.

In order for a war to be just, three things are necessary. First, the authority of the sovereign. Secondly, a just cause. Thirdly, a rightful intention.

Wonder is the desire for knowledge.

Now this relaxation of the mind from work consists on playful words or deeds. Therefore it becomes a wise and virtuous man to have recourse to such things at times.

Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you, a heart to seek you, wisdom to find you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and a hope of finally...

Hold firmly that our faith is identical with that of the ancients. Deny this, and you dissolve the unity of the Church.

How is it they live in such harmony the billions of stars – when most men can barely go a minute without declaring war in their minds about someone they know.

Beware the man of a single book.

By nature all men are equal in liberty, but not in other endowments.

If forgers and malefactors are put to death by the secular power, there is much more reason for excommunicating and even putting to death one convicted of heresy.

Love takes up where knowledge leaves off.

It is necessary to posit something which is necessary of itself, and has no cause of its necessity outside of itself but is the cause of necessity in other things. And all people call this...

Yet through virtuous living man is further ordained to a higher end, which consists in the enjoyment of God, as we have said above. Consequently, since society must have the same end as the individual...

All the efforts of the human mind cannot exhaust the essence of a single fly.

Because of the diverse conditions of humans, it happens that some acts are virtuous to some people, as appropriate and suitable to them, while the same acts are immoral for others, as inappropriate to them.

There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship.

Perfection of moral virtue does not wholly take away the passions, but regulates them.

All that is true, by whomsoever it has been said has its origin in the Spirit.

Better to illuminate than merely to shine, to deliver to others contemplated truths than merely to contemplate.

Distinctions drawn by the mind are not necessarily equivalent to distinctions in reality.

The blessed in the kingdom of heaven will see the punishments of the damned, in order that their bliss be more delightful for them.

How can we live in harmony? First we need to know we are all madly in love with the same God.

Happiness is secured through virtue; it is a good attained by man’s own will.

To bear with patience wrongs done to oneself is a mark of perfection, but to bear with patience wrongs done to someone else is a mark of imperfection and even of actual sin.

The theologian considers sin mainly as an offence against God; the moral philosopher as contrary to reasonableness.

The study of truth requires a considerable effort – which is why few are willing to undertake it out of love of knowledge – despite the fact that God has implanted a natural appetite for...

Three things are necessary for the salvation of man: to know what he ought to believe; to know what he ought to desire; and to know what he ought to do.