All saint books don't give citations. Do you know where Pope Saint Gregory the Great said

[Truth2.0]

Yes, the situation is bad, but what I particularly wanted to ask was where did Pope Saint Gregory the Great say the famous quotes:
“Purify rather than destroy pagan customs…”
And
“He who would climb to a lofty hight must go by steps not leaps.”
I did try searching online but got still more examples of how no one cites anything these days.
Very frustrating.
Thanks for your help.

 

[Todd_Easton]

“Purify rather than destroy pagan customs…”
And
“He who would climb to a lofty hight must go by steps not leaps.”

I found similar quotes in his Registrum Epistolarum (Register of Letters), Book XI, Letter 76:

But when Almighty God shall have brought you to our most reverend brother the bishop Augustine, tell him that I have long been considering with myself about the case of the Angli; to wit, that the temples of idols in that nation should not be destroyed, but that the idols themselves that are in them should be. Let blessed water be prepared, and sprinkled in these temples, and altars constructed, and relics deposited, since, if these same temples are well built, it is needful that they should be transferred from the worship of idols to the service of the true God; that, when the people themselves see that these temples are not destroyed, they may put away error from their heart, and, knowing and adoring the true God, may have recourse with the more familiarity to the places they have been accustomed to.

For it is undoubtedly impossible to cut away everything at once from hard hearts, since one who strives to ascend to the highest place must needs rise by steps or paces, and not by leaps.

 

[Todd_Easton]

I see that the first quote in my first post only concerned modifying pagan temples to make them suitable for Christian worship and so did not directly address your question concerning pagan customs. Modifying pagan customs is described in the intervening text of the same letter, Letter 76, between the two quoted texts in my first post:

And, since they are wont to kill many oxen in sacrifice to demons, they should have also some solemnity of this kind in a changed form, so that on the day of dedication, or on the anniversaries of the holy martyrs whose relics are deposited there, they may make for themselves tents of the branches of trees around these temples that have been changed into churches, and celebrate the solemnity with religious feasts. Nor let them any longer sacrifice animals to the devil, but slay animals to the praise of God for their own eating, and return thanks to the Giver of all for their fullness, so that, while some joys are reserved to them outwardly, they may be able the more easily to incline their minds to inward joys.