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. Blaise Pascal More Quotes by Blaise Pascal More Quotes From Blaise Pascal Nothing is good but mediocrity. The majority has settled that, and finds fault with him who escapes it at whichever end... To leave the mean is to abandon humanity. Blaise Pascal majorityhumanitymean Imagination magnifies small objects with fantastic exaggeration until they fill our soul, and with bold insolence cuts down great things to its own size, as when speaking of God. Blaise Pascal small-objectscuttingimagination Either God exists or He doesn't. Either I believe in God or I don't. Of the four possibilities, only one is to my disadvantage. To avoid that possibility, I believe in God. Blaise Pascal fourgodbelieve We know truth, not only by the reason, but also by the heart. Blaise Pascal wisdomtruthheart The God of Christians is a God of love and comfort, a God who fills the soul and heart of those whom he possesses, a God who makes them conscious of their inward wretchedness, and his infinite mercy; who unites himself to their inmost soul, who fills it with humility and joy, with confidence and love, who renders them incapable of any other end than himself. Blaise Pascal humilitychristianheart Few men speak humbly of humility, chastely of chastity, skeptically of skepticism. Blaise Pascal pridehumilitymath 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. Blaise Pascal solitudefellow-manmen Man is so made that by continually telling him he is a fool he believes it, and by continually telling it to himself he makes himself believe it. For man holds an inward talk with himself, which it pays him to regulate. Blaise Pascal inwardmenbelieve To go beyond the bounds of moderation is to outrage humanity. Blaise Pascal outragemoderationhumanity Justice is what is established; and thus all our established laws will necessarily be regarded as just without examination, since they are established. Blaise Pascal examinationlawjustice Curiosity is nothing more than vanity. More often than not we only seek knowledge to show it off. Blaise Pascal vanitycuriosityshows 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. Blaise Pascal majoritydemocracyable If a man is not made for God, why is he happy only in God? Blaise Pascal faithmademen The mind has its arrangement; it proceeds from principles to demonstrations. The heart has a different mode of proceeding. Blaise Pascal principlesmindheart The property of power is to protect. Blaise Pascal propertyprotectpower Not the zeal alone of those who seek Him proves God, but the blindness of those who seek Him not. Blaise Pascal blindnesszealprove Being unable to cure death, wretchedness, and ignorance, men have decided, in order to be happy, not to think about such things. Blaise Pascal ignorancementhinking Man is so great that his greatness appears even in the consciousness of his misery. A tree does not know itself to be miserable. It is true that it is misery indeed to know one's self to be miserable; but then it is greatness also. In this way, all man's miseries go to prove his greatness. They are the miseries of a mighty potentate, of a dethroned monarch. Blaise Pascal greatnessselfmen Habit is a second nature, which destroys the first. Blaise Pascal habitnaturefirsts Apart from Jesus Christ, we do not know what is our life, nor our death, nor God, nor ourselves. Blaise Pascal knowsjesuschrist
