“Eloquence is a painting of thought.” – Blaise Pascal
Today we share the work of Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) from ‘Pensées’ and other of his writings. ‘Pensées’ is not a book Pascal actually published himself. Rather, it is a collection of some 800 to 1,000 notes and manuscript fragments published posthumously eight years after his death (1670).
Introduction
An inventor, mathematician, physicist, scientist, theologian, and writer, the 17th-century French philosopher was a bit of a polymath: In mathematics, Pascal made historic contributions: he was an early pioneer in the fields of game theory and probability theory. Pascal also made huge contributions to the physical sciences, including both experimental and theoretical work on hydraulics, atmospheric pressure, and the existence and nature of the vacuum. In philosophy, he was an early pioneer in existentialism. As a writer on theology and religion, he eloquently defended Christianity.
Primary Sources
Quotes are excerpted from the Oxford World’s Classics edition of ‘Blaise Pascal: Pensées And Other Writings’, published by Oxford University Press 2008 and featuring a translation by Honor Levi.
According to Honor Levi, “The real fascination of the text as Pascal left it… lies not in the impossible intellectual conundrum of reconstituting the order in which the fragments were composed, but in the frequency with which Pascal’s imagination returns to certain recurring cardinal points, mostly concerning the religious difficulties occasioned by this theological views, and what must have been he progressively deepening analysis of human motivation and behaviour which supports them… Pascal makes intense imaginative efforts and achieves disturbingly perceptive psychological penetration in his attempt to resolve his dilemmas… the interest in his text resides in the power which he brings to defining the dilemmas and in the extraordinary intellectual insights into the human condition he brings to their resolution.”
Quotes From ‘Blaise Pascal: Pensées And Other Writings’
Autonomy
“Imagination… is the part of the human being which dominates, this mistress of error and falsehood, and all the more treacherous because it is not consistently treacherous… This proud, powerful enemy of reason… cannot make fools into wise men, but it can make them happy, unlike reason, which can only make its friends miserable, one enveloping them with glory, the other with shame.” – ‘III. Vanity’
“Imagination orders everything. It is the spring of beauty… and happiness which is the be-all and the end-all of the world.” – ‘III. Vanity’
“Human beings are simply a subject full of natural error, which cannot be eradicated without grace. [Nothing] points them towards the truth. Everything deceives them. These two principles of truth, reason and the senses, apart from the fact that each of them lacks sincerity, mutually deceive one another. The senses deceive reason through false appearances, and the very deceit they play on the soul is played back on them in return. Reason takes it revenge. The passions of the soul disturb the senses and give them false impressions. They lie and deceive themselves at will.” – ‘III. Vanity’
“Everyone should study their thoughts. They will find them all centred on the past or the future. We almost never think of the present, and if we do it is simply to shed some light on the future. The present is never our end. Past and present are our means, only the future is our end. And so we never actually live, though we hope to, and in constantly striving for happiness it is inevitable that we will never achieve it.” – ‘III. Vanity’
“The world judges a great number of things in a state of natural ignorance, the true seat of man.” – ‘VI. Cause And Effects’
“… knowledge is clouded by the passions.” – ‘VIII. Contradictions’
“All our dignity consists therefore of thought. It is from there that we must be lifted up and not from space and time, which we could never fill. So let us work on thinking well. That is the principle of morality.” – ‘XVI. Transition From Knowledge Of Man To Knowledge Of God’
“All the brilliance of greatness has no attraction for people who are involved in pursuits of the mind.” – ‘XXIV. Proofs Of Jesus Christ’
“Memory is necessary for all the operations of reason.” – ‘XXXV’
“Nothing appeals to us except the contest; not the victory.” – ‘XXXVII’
“… the morality of judgement has no time for the morality of the mind… For judgement is what goes with feeling, as knowledge goes with the mind.” – ‘XLIII’
“There is… an infinite distance between the certainty of winning and the certainty of losing.” – ‘XLV’
“The heart has its reasons which reason itself does not know… The only knowledge which is contrary to both common sense and human nature is the only one which has always existed among men.” – ‘XLV’
“…tranquility in… ignorance is monstrous…” – ‘XLVI’
“Our imagination so magnifies the present by dint of thinking about it continually, and so reduces eternity for lack of thinking about it, that we turn eternity into a void and a void into an eternity. And all this has such strong roots within us, that all our reason cannot save us from it and that…” – ‘XLVI’
Social Capital
“Admiration spoils everything from childhood on.” – ‘IV. Wretchedness’
“Tyranny consists in the universal desire to dominate, beyond one’s station.” – ‘IV. Wretchedness’
“Inequality must necessarily exist between men.” – ‘XXXIII’
“The pleasure of the great is the power to make people happy.” – ‘XXXVIII’
“Time heals pain and quarrels, because we change.” – ‘Eucharist’
“By knowing each man’s ruling passion, we are sure of pleasing him. Nevertheless every man has fanciful ideas opposed to his own good, in the very idea he has of good. It is an idiosyncrasy that puts us out of tune.” – ‘Eucharist’
“We are not satisfied with the life we have in ourselves and in our own being: we want to lead an imaginary life in the minds of other people, and so we make an effort to impress. We constantly strive to embellish and preserve our imaginary being, and neglect the real one. And if we are calm, or generous, or loyal we are anxious to let it be known so that we can bind these virtues to our other being…” – ‘Eucharist’
“The crowd finds no difference between people.” – ‘XLII’
“We put such a high value on men’s reason that, whatever of earth’s advantages he may have, he is unhappy if he does not also have a privileged position in peoples’ esteem… this desire… is the most indelible quality in the human heart.” – ‘LIII’
“How unjust and unreasonable the heart of mankind is, to resent the obligation to behave towards one person in a fashion that, in some ways, would be right to behave towards everyone!” – ‘The Memorial’
“… each degree of good fortune which takes us up in the world distances us further from the truth, because people are more afraid of offending those whose affection is more useful and whose dislike more dangerous.” – ‘The Memorial’
“… human life is nothing but a perpetual illusion; there is nothing but mutual deception and flattery… Human relationships are founded only on this mutual deception… Mankind is therefore nothing but disguise, lies, and hypocrisy, both as individuals and with regard to others. They therefore do not want to be told the truth.” – ‘The Memorial’
“Nothing is more widespread than good news…” – ‘The Art Of Persuasion’
Sovereignty
“Just as we once used to suffer for our vices, we now suffer for our laws [Tacitus, Annals, 3.25].” – ‘IV. Wretchedness’
“Nothing is faultier than laws which put right faults.” – ‘IV. Wretchedness’
“…being unable to ensure that force obeys justice, we have made it just to obey force. We cannot strengthen justice, so we justify strength, in order that from both together there could be peace, which is the sovereign good.” – ‘VI. Cause And Effects’
Virtues
“The true nature of man, his true good, true virtue, and true religion, cannot be known separately.” – ‘Table Of Liasse Titles’
“Man’s greatness. We have such a high idea of man’s soul that we cannot bear to think that this idea is wrong and therefore to be without this esteem for it. This whole of man’s happiness lies in this esteem.” – ‘Table Of Liasse Titles’
“Those who wish to know fully man’s vanity need only consider the causes and effects of love.” – ‘Table Of Liasse Titles’
“Without Jesus Christ man is necessarily in a state of vice and wretchedness… In him lies all our virtue and all our happiness.” – ‘Table Of Liasse Titles’
“Faith is different from proof. One is human, the other is a gift from God. ‘The upright man finds life through faith’ (Rom. 1:17).” – ‘II. Order’
“We are incapable of both truth and goodness.” – ‘III. Vanity’
“Anyone who does not see the vanity of the world is very vain himself.” – ‘III. Vanity’
“Love or hatred stands justice on its head.” – ‘III. Vanity’
“… nothing is intrinsically just…” – ‘IV. Wretchedness’
“Justice, like finery, is dictated by fashion.” – ‘IV. Wretchedness’
“More often than not curiosity is merely vanity.” – ‘V. Boredom And Qualities Essential To Mankind’
“Wisdom leads us back to childhood.” – ‘VI. Cause And Effects’
“Justice without strength is powerless. Strength without justice is tyrannical.” – ‘VI. Cause And Effects’
“Man is beyond man… truth is neither within our grasp nor is it our target.” – ‘VIII. Contradictions’
“Faith is a gift of God.” – ‘XXXIII’
“Nothing apart from truth brings certainty. Nothing apart from the sincere quest for truth brings tranquility.” – ‘XXXIV’
“Speeches about humility are a matter of pride for those who care for reputation, and of humility for the humble.” – ‘XXXV’
“… do not admire the excess of a virtue, like courage…” – ‘XXXV’
“… we never love a person, only qualities.” – ‘XXXV’
“Truth is so darkened nowadays, and lies so established, that unless we love the truth we will never know it.” – ‘XXXVI’
“We would happily be cowards if that gained us the reputation of being brave.” – ‘Eucharist’
“There is not so great a disproportion between our justice and God’s justice as there is between unity and infinity.” – ‘XLV’
“It is the heart that feels God, not reason: that is what faith is.“ – ‘XLV’
“The vilest of human characteristics is his search for glory. But it is just this that is the greatest sign of human excellence.” – ‘LIII’
“… telling the truth is useful to the hearer but harmful to the teller…” – ‘The Memorial’
Final Thoughts
Pascal’s philosophical insights reveal a thinker deeply concerned with the fundamental paradoxes of human existence. His observations about imagination as both “mistress of error” and the source of happiness capture the essential tension between our need for truth and our reliance on illusion.
Throughout the Pensées, we encounter a mind wrestling with the contradictions inherent in being human: we are creatures capable of reason yet ruled by passion, seekers of truth yet comfortable in deception, aspiring to greatness while mired in wretchedness. This unflinching examination of our divided nature makes Pascal remarkably relevant to modern readers, as we continue to grapple with questions of authenticity, self-deception, and the search for meaning in an uncertain world.
What strikes most powerfully in Pascal’s work is his insight into the social dimension of human existence—our desperate need to “lead an imaginary life in the minds of other people.” His observation that we neglect our real being while constantly embellishing our imaginary one anticipates modern concerns about social media and personal branding by centuries. Pascal understood that human relationships are built on “mutual deception and flattery,” yet he also recognized that our search for glory and esteem, however vain, represents “the greatest sign of human excellence.” This nuanced view acknowledges both our weakness and our nobility, suggesting that our very flaws point toward our capacity for transcendence.
Ultimately, Pascal offers no easy consolation for the human condition. His philosophy demands that we face uncomfortable truths: that justice without strength is powerless, that we are incapable of both truth and goodness on our own, and that “we never actually live, though we hope to.” Yet within this stark assessment lies a profound call to consciousness.
By insisting that “all our dignity consists therefore of thought” and urging us to “work on thinking well,” Pascal charts a path through the maze of human contradiction. His legacy is not a system of answers but a method of questioning—one that refuses to simplify the complexity of human experience while maintaining hope that through rigorous self-examination and, in his view, divine grace, we might transcend our limitations and touch something of genuine truth.
Thanks for reading!