The fire watch is an examination of conscience in which your task as watchman suddenly appears in its true light: a pretext devised by God to isolate you, and to search your soul with lamps and questions, in the heart of darkness.
It is in deep solitude that I find the gentleness with which I can truly love my brothers. The more solitary I am, the more affection I have for them.
We are so obsessed with doing that we have no time and no imagination left for being. As a result, men are valued not for what they are but for what they do or what they have.
He who cannot find himself the retreat of his own soul, let him appeal to solitude — if he can even bear himself.
Let us be silent, that we may hear the whisper of the gods.
Withdraw into yourself as much as you can. Associate with those who will make a better man of you. Welcome those whom you yourself can improve.