Blaise Pascal Quotes
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The heart has its order, the mind has its own, which uses principles and demonstrations. The heart has a different one. We do not prove that we ought to be loved by setting out in order the causes of love; that would be absurd.
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Description of man: dependence, longing for independence, need.
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All the excesses, all the violence, and all the vanity of great men, come from the fact that they know not what they are: it being difficult for those who regard themselves at heart as equal with all men... For this it is necessary for one to forget himself, and to believe that he has some real excellence above them, in which consists this illusion that I am endeavoring to discover to you.
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We do not rest satisfied with the present.... So imprudent we are that we wander in the times which are not ours and do not thinkof the only one which belongs to us; and so idle are we that we dream of those times which are no more and thoughtlessly overlook that which alone exists. For the present is generally painful to us.
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Each one is all in all to himself; for being dead, all is dead to him.
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Mediocrity makes the most of its native possessions.
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If a man is not made for God, why is he happy only in God?
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Two things control men's nature, instinct and experience.
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If god does not exist, one loses nothing by believing in him anyway, while if he does exist, one stands to lose everything by not believing.
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It is not our task to secure the triumph of truth, but merely to fight on its behalf.
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The last proceeding of reason is to recognize that there is an infinity of things which are beyond it. There is nothing so conformable to reason as this disavowal of reason.
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Things are always at their best in their beginning.
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Chance gives rise to thoughts, and chance removes them; no art can keep or acquire them.
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The supreme function of reason is to show man that some things are beyond reason.
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Ugly deeds are most estimable when hidden.
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Force rules the world-not opinion; but it is opinion that makes use of force.
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All the maxims have been written. It only remains to put them into practice.
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The greater intellect one has, the more originality one finds in men. Ordinary persons find no difference between men.
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We must know where to doubt, where to feel certain, where to submit. He who does not do so, understands not the force of reason.
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No religion except ours has taught that man is born in sin; none of the philosophical sects has admitted it; none therefore has spoken the truth.
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All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end. The cause of some going to war, and of others avoiding it, is the same desire in both, attended with different views. The will never takes the least step but to this object. This is the motive of every action of every man, even of those who hang themselves.
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It is a dangerous experiment to call in gratitude as an ally to love. Love is a debt which inclination always pays, obligation never.
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Let no one say that I have said nothing new... the arrangement of the subject is new. When we play tennis, we both play with the same ball, but one of us places it better.
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There is enough light for those who only desire to see, and enough obscurity for those who have a contrary disposition.