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Francis de Sales Quotes
1567–1622 France
Saint Francis de Sales (French: Saint François de Sales) (21 August 1567 – 28 December 1622) was bishop of Geneva and a Roman Catholic saint. He worked to convert Protestants back to Catholicism, was an accomplished preacher, and wrote books on religious topics.
Also known as: De Sales, Francis, Francis De Sales, Saint Francis de Sales, St Francis de Sales, St. Francis de Sales
Random Francis de Sales quote
17 quotes
A good discourse is that from which nothing can be retrenched without cutting into the quick.
Because friendship is intercommunication of love, therefore where love is not mutual, there can be no friendship.
There are no galley-slaves in the royal vessel of divine love—every man works his oar voluntarily!
What is the use of building castles in Spain, since one has to live in France?
When you encounter difficulties and contradictions, do not try to break them, but bend them with gentleness and time.
What we do for others always seems like a lot, what others do for us seems like nothing.
Have patience with every one, but especially with yourself.
Madam, this desire [for holiness] must be in you like the orange trees of the Genoese Riviera, which, for almost the entire year, are laden with fruit, flowers and leaves at the same time.
We accuse our neighbours for minor things, and excuse ourselves for major ones.
Ceux-là qui aiment à se faire craindre, craignent de se faire aimer, et eux-mêmes craignent plus que tous les autres; car les autres ne craignent qu'eux, mais eux craignent tous les autres.
You learn to speak by speaking, to study by studying, to run by running, to work by working ; and just so you learn to love God and man by loving. All those who think to learn in any other way deceive themselves.
A heart-memory is better than a mere head-memory. Better to carry away a little of the love of Christ in our souls, than if we were able to repeat every word of every sermon we ever heard.
Make friends with the angels, who though invisible are always with you.... Often invoke them, constantly praise them, and make good use of their help and assistance in all your temporal and spiritual affairs.
The damned are in the abyss of Hell, as within a woeful city, where they suffer unspeakable torments, in all their senses and members, because as they have employed all their senses and their members in sinning, so shall they suffer in each of them the punishment due to sin.
The heart speaks to the heart.
Since we live in the world, we must follow the laws of the world in everything that is not sinful
It is the mark of a mean, vulgar and ignoble spirit to dwell on the thought of food before meal times or worse to dwell on it afterwards, to discuss it and wallow in the remembered pleasures of every mouthful. Those whose minds dwell before dinner on the spit, and after on the dishes, are fit only to be scullions.
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