Blaise Pascal Quotes

You would not seek me if you did not possess me.

The last thing one knows when writing a book is what to put first.

There are two ways of persuading men of the truths of our religion; one by the power of reason, the other by the authority of the speaker.
We do not use the latter but the former. We do not say: 'You must believe that because Scripture, which says it, is divine,' but we say that it must be believed for such and such a reason. But these are feeble arguments, because reason can be bent in any direction.

What must I do? I see nothing but obscurities on every side.'
'Shall I believe I am nothing? Shall I believe I am God?

Man is but a reed, the feeblest thing in nature, but he is a thinking reed. The entire universe need not arm itself to crush him… But if the universe were to crush him, man would still be nobler than that which killed him, because he knows that he dies and the advantage which the universe has over him – the universe knows nothing of this. All our dignity then consists in thought. By it we must elevate ourselves, and not by space and time, which we cannot fill.

Wisdom leads us back to childhood. Except ye become as little children.

Ecclesiastes shows that man without God is in total ignorance and inevitable misery.

I have often said the soul cause of man’s unhappiness is that he does not know how to stay quietly in a room. (Page 32)

If you want people to think well of you, do not speak well of yourself.

One has followed the other in an endless circle, for it is certain that as man's insight increases so he finds both wretchedness and greatness within himself. In a word man knows he is wretched. Thus he is wretched because he is so, but he is truly great because he knows it.

Wisdom is a return to childhood.

They prefer death to peace, others prefer death to war.
Any opinion can be preferred to life, which it seems so natural to love dearly.

I do not admire the excess of a virtue as of valour, except I see at the same time the excess of the opposite virtue, as in Epaminondas, who had the greatest valour and the greatest kindness. For otherwise it is not to rise, it is to fall. We do not display greatness by going to one extreme, but in touching both at once, and filling all the intervening space.

Jesus Christ is the god whom we approach without pride, and before whom we humble ourselves without despair.

Do not be astonished to see simple people believing without argument. God makes them love him and hate themselves. He inclines their hearts to believe. We shall never believe, with an effective belief and faith, unless God inclines our hearts.