reactions

"Until then, everyone in Saint-Quentin and in the diocese was in favour of me. I was loved in this city. From now on I was going to meet a persistent hostility. Half of the city was in a certain way attached to the public college. I couldn’t be anymore persona grata to all these people. The lay boarding schools of the city had their clients, too - I became for them a competitor...I was very sensitive to all this. I didn’t have the temperament of a fighter. By nature I was inclined to be kind to everyone and I wanted them to treat me the same." (NHV XIII/22s)
...