What is there upon the earth, then, more glorious or more worthy of man than the cares of eternity? Prosperities are honorable anxieties; splendid enjoyments an illustrious servitude; reputation is frequently a public error; titles and dignities are rarely the fruit of virtue, and, at the most, serve only to adorn our tombs and embellish our ashes; great talents, if faith does not regulate their use, are only great temptations: deep knowledge, a wind which inflates and corrupts, if faith does not correct its venom; all these are only grand, by the use which may be made of them toward salvation: virtue alone is estimable for itself.

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