Letter to Father Deguerry (30 December 1886)
In wishing to avoid disheartening a candidate, it burdens the Congregation with useless members (ouvriers, lit. “workers”). These consequently are extremely dangerous because, not being able to work for lack of solid virtue or intelligence, they become discouraged and discourage others and put them off completely. This is what the directors of the novitiates and scholasticates have up to now not been willing to understand.