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Blaise Pascal Quotes - Page 29

All Quotes Achievement Age Anxiety Appreciation Art Atheism Atheist Authority Beauty Belief Blindness Boredom Certainty Change Character Charity Christ Confusion Curiosity Darkness Death Deception Desire Dignity Doubt Duty Dying Earth Effort Eternity Evil Faith Feelings Giving Glory God Good Deeds Grace Greatness Happiness Hate Heart Heaven History Humanity Humility Hypocrisy Ignorance Imagination Inspirational Intelligence Intuition Jesus Joy Judging Justice Killing Kindness Knowing God Knowledge Life Logic Loss Love Lying Madness Mankind Math Mathematics Mediocrity Moderation Morality Nature Originality Pain Painting Passion Past Peace Perception Philosophy Pleasure Power Pride Progress Purpose Quality Reading Reality Religion Reputation Running Sadness Science Shame Silence Sin Sleep Solitude Soul Spring Struggle Study Style Suffering Time Truth Tyranny Understanding Unity Universe Vision War Water Weakness Winning Wisdom Writing

All sorrow has its root in man's inability to sit quiet in a room by himself.

All sorrow has its root in man's inability to sit quiet in a room by himself.

Men, Roots, Sorrow

Even those who write against fame wish for the fame of having written well, and those who read their works desire the fame of having read them.

Writing, Wish, Desire

No one is ignorant that there are two avenues by which opinions are received into the soul, which are its two principal powers: the understanding and the will.

Two, Understanding, Soul

Blaise Pascal (2010). “Thoughts, Letters & Minor Works”, p.406, Cosimo, Inc.

Our true dignity consists — in thought. Thence we must derive our elevation, not from space or duration. Let us endeavor then to think well; this is the principle of morals.

Thinking, Principles, Morality

"Thoughts of Blaise Pascal".

Let us now speak according to natural lights. If there is a God, He is infinitely incomprehensible. . . . We are then incapable of knowing of either what He is or if He is. . . .

Light, If There Is A God, Knowing

Blaise Pascal (2016). “Pensées”, p.97, Open Road Media

It is superstitious to put one's hopes in formalities, but arrogant to refuse to submit to them.

Arrogant, Ceremony, Submit

Blaise Pascal (1966). “Pascal Pensées”, Penguin Classics

I am in the utmost perplexity, yand have wished a hundred times, that if there is a A God, nature would manifest him without ambiguity, and that if there is not, every imaginary sign of his existence might vanish : in short, let nature speak distinctly, or be totally silent, and I shall know what course to take.

Nature, Might, Speak

Men often take their imagination for their heart; and they believe they are converted as soon as they think of being converted.

Believe, Heart, Men

Blaise Pascal (2013). “Pascal's Pensees”, p.81, Simon and Schuster

Things have different qualities, and the soul different inclinations; for nothing is simple which is presented to the soul, and the soul never presents itself simply to any object. Hence it comes that we weep and laugh at the same thing.

Simple, Laughing, Soul

Blaise Pascal (2013). “Pascal's Pensees”, p.38, Simon and Schuster

We must make good people wish that the Christian faith were true, and then show that it is.

Christian, People, Wish

Look somewhere else for someone who can follow you in your researches about numbers. For my part, I confess that they are far beyond me, and I am competent only to admire them.

Math, Somewhere Else, Numbers

Which is the more believable of the two, Moses or China?

Two, Religion, Moses

Eloquence is a painting of thought; and thus those who, after having painted it, add something more, make a picture instead of a portrait.

Thoughtful, Thinking, Portraits

Blaise Pascal (2009). “Thoughts”, p.21, Lulu.com

If we dreamed the same thing every night, it would affect us much as the objects we see every day. And if a common workman were sure to dream every night for twelve hours that he was a king, I believe he would be almost as happy as a king who should dream every night for twelve hours on end that he was a common workman.

Dream, Kings, Believe

What matters it that man should have a little more knowledge of the universe? If he has it, he gets little higher. Is he not always infinitely removed from the end, and is not the duration of our life equally removed from eternity, even if it lasts ten years longer?

Knowledge, Men, What Matters

Blaise Pascal (2010). “Thoughts, Letters & Minor Works”, p.30, Cosimo, Inc.

You gave me health that I might serve you; and so often I failed to use my good health in your service. Now you send me sickness in order to correct me Grant that, having ignored the things of spirit when my body was vigorous, I may now enjoy spiritual sweetness while my body groans with pain.

Spiritual, Pain, Order

Let a man choose what condition he will, and let him accumulate around him all the goods and gratifications seemingly calculated to make him happy in it; if that man is left at any time without occupation or amusement, and reflects on what he is, the meagre, languid felicity of his present lot will not bear him up. He will turn necessarily to gloomy anticipations of the future; and unless his occupation calls him out of himself, he is inevitably wretched.

Happiness, Men, Occupation

Piety is different from superstition. To carry piety to the extent of superstition is to destroy it. The heretics reproach us with this superstitious submission. It is doing what they reproach us with.

Different, Superstitions, Submission

When a man who accepts the Christian doctrine lives unworthily of it, it is much clearer to say he is a bad Christian than to say he is not a Christian.

Christian, Men, Doctrine

It is not possible to have reasonable grounds for not believing in miracles.

Believe, Miracle, Reasonable

Blaise Pascal (1966). “Pascal Pensées”, Penguin Classics

Equality of possessions is no doubt right, but, as men could not make might obey right, they have made right obey might.

Men, Doubt, Might

Blaise Pascal (1966). “Pascal Pensées”, Penguin Classics

You see, if the height of the mercury [barometer] column is less on the top of a mountain than at the foot of it (as I have many reasons for believing, although everyone who has so far written about it is of the contrary opinion), it follows that the weight of the air must be the sole cause of the phenomenon, and not that abhorrence of a vacuum, since it is obvious that at the foot of the mountain there is more air to have weight than at the summit, and we cannot possibly say that the air at the foot of the mountain has a greater aversion to empty space than at the top.

Believe, Air, Feet

I condemn equally those who choose to praise man, those who choose to condemn him and those who choose to divert themselves, and I can only approve of those who seek with groans.

Men, Praise, I Can

Two similar faces, neither of which alone causes laughter, use laughter when they are together, by their resemblance.

Laughter, Two, Together

Seeing too much to deny and too little to be sure, I am in a state to be pitied.

Littles, Too Much, Deny

Blaise Pascal (2009). “Thoughts”, p.75, Lulu.com

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