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.

To live well is to work well, to show a good activity.

Nothing which implies contradiction falls under the omnipotence of God.

It is requisite for the relaxation of the mind that we make use, from time to time, of playful deeds and jokes.

Law; an ordinance of reason for the common good, made by him who has care of the community.

We can’t have full knowledge all at once. We must start by believing; then afterwards we may be led on to master the evidence for ourselves.

Temperance is simply a disposition of the mind which binds the passion.

knowledge depends on the mode of the knower; for what is known is in the knower according to the measure of his mode

Good can exist without evil, whereas evil cannot exist without good.

Justice is a certain rectitude of mind whereby a man does what he ought to do in the circumstances confronting him.

Give us, O Lord, a steadfast heart, which no unworthy affection may drag downwards; give us an unconquered heart, which no tribulation can wear out; give us an upright heart, which no unworthy purpose may...

Beware of the person of one book.

Whatever is received is received according to the nature of the recipient.

Friendship is the source of the greatest pleasures, and without friends even the most agreeable pursuits become tedious.

The knowledge of God is the cause of things. For the knowledge of God is to all creatures what the knowledge of the artificer is to things made by his art.

Honor is due to God and to persons of great excellence as a sign of attestation of excellence already existing; not that honor makes them excellent.

The soul is like an uninhabited worldthat comes to life only whenGod lays His headagainst us.

Every judgement of conscience, be it right or wrong, be it about things evil in themselves or morally indifferent, is obligatory, in such wise that he who acts against his conscience always sins.

That the saints may enjoy their beatitude and the grace of God more abundantly they are permitted to see the punishment of the damned in hell.

Creator of all things, true source of light and wisdom, origin of all being, graciously let a ray of your light penetrate the darkness of my understanding. Take from me the double darkness in which...

The test of the artist does not lie in the will with which he goes to work, but in the excellence of the work he produces.

Love must precede hatred, and nothing is hated save through being contrary to a suitable thing which is loved. And hence it is that every hatred is caused by love.

If the highest aim of a captain were to preserve his ship, he would keep it in port forever.

Because we cannot know what God is, but only what He is not, we cannot consider how He is but only how He is not.

If you are looking for the way by which you should go, take Christ, because he himself is the way.

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

Faith has to do with things that are not seen and hope with things that are not at hand.

Most men seem to live according to sense rather than reason.

God loves his creatures, and he loves each one the more, the more it shares his own goodness, which is the first and primary object of his love. Therefore he wants the desires of his...

Man should not consider his material possession his own, but as common to all, so as to share them without hesitation when others are in need.

There is but one Church in which men find salvation, just as outside the ark of Noah it was not possible for anyone to be saved.

Sorrow can be alleviated by good sleep, a bath and a glass of wine.

Reason in man is rather like God in the world.

It is not theft, properly speaking, to take secretly and use another’s property in a case of extreme need: because that which he takes for the support of his life becomes his own property by...

The Study of philosophy is not that we may know what men have thought, but what the truth of things is.

The things that we love tell us what we are.

Moral science is better occupied when treating of friendship than of justice.

To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.

Well-ordered self-love is right and natural.

To convert somebody go and take them by the hand and guide them.

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.