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.

From “'Il desiderio della santità”' (The Desire for Holiness), letter to the Baroness of Chantal dated 3 May 1604, in “'Rivestitevi di dolcezza”' (Clothe Yourself in Gentleness), translated into Italian by Luigi Rolfo, Edizioni Paoline, 1987, p. 9.