Blaise Pascal
Why God has instituted Prayer:— To communicate to his creatures the dignity of causation.Collection: Prayer
If a soldier or labourer complain of the hardship of his lot, set him to do nothing.Collection: Soldier
The heart has arguments with which the logic of mind is not aquainted.Collection: Heart
Man is so made that if he is told often enough that he is a fool he believes it.Collection: Believe
We are fools to depend upon the society of our fellow-men. Wretched as we are, powerless as we are, they will not aid us; we shall die alone.Collection: Men
Faith affirms many things, respecting which the senses are silent, but nothing that they deny. It is superior, but never opposed to their testimonyCollection: Faith
The greatest single distinguishing feature of the omnipotence of God is that our imagination gets lost thinking about it.Collection: Thinking
Nature confuses the skeptics and reason confutes the dogmatistsCollection: Nature
For after all what is man in nature? A nothing in relation to infinity, all in relation to nothing, a central point between nothing and all and infinitely far from understanding either. The ends of things and their beginnings are impregnably concealed from him in an impenetrable secret. He is equally incapable of seeing the nothingness out of which he was drawn and the infinite in which he is engulfed.Collection: Life
All I know is that I must soon die, but what I know least is this very death which I cannot escape.Collection: Death
It is a dangerous experiment to call in gratitude as an ally to love. Love is a debt which inclination always pays, obligation never.Collection: Gratitude
If men knew themselves, God would heal and pardon them.Collection: Men
The majority is the best way, because it is visible, and has strength to make itself obeyed. Yet it is the opinion of the least able.Collection: Democracy
Few men speak humbly of humility, chastely of chastity, skeptically of skepticism.Collection: Humility
He who cannot believe is cursed, for he reveals by his unbelief that God has not chosen to give him grace.Collection: Believe
We run heedlessly into the abyss after putting something in front of us to stop us from seeing it.Collection: Running
The greatness of man is so evident that it is even proved by his wretchedness. For what in animals is nature, we call in man wretchedness--by which we recognize that, his nature being now like that of animals, he has fallen from a better nature which once was his.Collection: Animal
Rivers are highways that move on and bear us whither we wish to go.Collection: Moving
Those great efforts of intellect, upon which the mind sometimes touches, are such that it cannot maintain itself there. It only leaps to them, not as upon a throne, forever, but merely for an instant.Collection: Effort
La dernie' re chose qu'on trouve en faisant un ouvrage, est de savoir celle qu'il faut mettre la premie' re. The last thing one discovers in composing a work iswhat to put first.Collection: Lasts
Everything that is incomprehensible does not, however, cease to exist.Collection: Doe
The Stoics say, "Retire within yourselves; it is there you will find your rest." And that is not true. Others say, "Go out of yourselves; seek happiness in amusement." And this is not true. Illness comes. Happiness is neither without us nor within us. It is in God, both without us and within us.Collection: Amusement
I take it as a matter not to be disputed, that if all knew what each said of the other, there would not be four friends in the world. This seems proved by the quarrels and disputes caused by the disclosures which are occasionally made.Collection: Gossip
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.Collection: Dream
When malice has reason on its side, it looks forth bravely, and displays that reason in all its luster. When austerity and self-denial have not realized true happiness, and the soul returns to the dictates of nature, the reaction is fearfully extravagant.Collection: Self
Vanity is illustrated in the cause and effect of love, as in the case of Cleopatra.Collection: Vanity
Therefore, those to whom God has imparted religion by intuition are very fortunate and justly convinced. But to those who do not have it, we can give it only by reasoning, waiting for God to give them spiritual insight, without which faith is only human and useless for salvation.Collection: Spiritual
Those who profess contempt for men, and put them on a level with beasts, yet wish to be admired and believed by men, and contradict themselves by their own feelings--their nature, which is stronger than all, convincing them of the greatness of man more forcibly than reason convinces them of his baseness.Collection: Greatness
The more intelligence one has, the more people one finds original. Commonplace people see no difference between men.Collection: Men
Without the knowledge of our wretchedness, the knowledge of God creates pride. With it, the knowledge of God creates despair. The knowledge of Christ offers a third way, because in him we find both God and our wretchedness.Collection: Hope
The present is never the mark of our designs. We use both past and present as our means and instruments, but the future only as our object and aim.Collection: Future
What use is it to us to hear it said of a man that he has thrown off the yoke that he does not believe there is a God to watch over his actions, that he reckons himself the sole master of his behavior, and that he does not intend to give an account of it to anyone but himself?Collection: Christian
Man is full of desires: he loves only those who can satisfy them all. "This man is a good mathematician," someone will say. But I have no concern for mathematics; he would take me for a proposition. "That one is a good soldier." He would take me for a besieged town. I need, that is to say, a decent man who can accommodate himself to all my desires in a general sort of way.Collection: Love
Discourses on humility are a source of pride in the vain and of humility in the humble. So those on scepticism cause believers to affirm. Few men speak humbly of humility, chastely of chastity, few doubtingly of scepticism.Collection: Humble
How comes it that a cripple does not offend us, but a fool does? Because a cripple recognizes that we walk straight, whereas a fool declares that it is we who are silly; if it were not so, we should feel pity and not anger.Collection: Silly
Le moi est ha|«s sable. The self is hateful.Collection: Self
En un mot, l'homme conna|"t qu'il est mise rable: il est donc mise rable, puisqu'il l'est; mais il est bien grand, puisqu'il le conna|"t. In one word, man knows that he is miserable and therefore he is miserable because he knows it; but he is also worthy, because he knows his condition.Collection: Men
Evil is easily discovered; there is an infinite variety; good is almost unique. But some kinds of evil are almost as difficult to discover as that which we call good; and often particular evil of this class passes for good. It needs even a certain greatness of soul to attain to this, as to that which is good.Collection: Unique
I would have far more fear of being mistaken, and of finding that the Christian religion was true, than of not being mistaken in believing it true.Collection: Christian
Reflect on death as in Jesus Christ, not as without Jesus Christ. Without Jesus Christ it is dreadful, it is alarming, it is the terror of nature. In Jesus Christ it is fair and lovely, it is good and holy, it is the joy of saints.Collection: Death
Men despise religion. They hate it and are afraid it may be true. The cure for this is first to show that religion is not contrary to reason, but worthy of reverence and respect. Next make it attractive, make good men wish it were true and then show that it is.Collection: Hate
All the trouble in the world is due to the fact that man cannot sit still in a room.Collection: Men
Mutual cheating is the foundation of society.Collection: Cheating
Something incomprehensible is not for that reason less real.Collection: Real
Kind words do not cost much. They never blister the tongue or lips. They make other people good-natured. They also produce their own image on men's souls, and a beautiful image it is.Collection: Beautiful
If we examine our thoughts, we shall find them always occupied with the past or the future.Collection: Past
Clarity of mind means clarity of passion, too; this is why a great and clear mind loves ardently and sees distinctly what it loves.Collection: Love