Blaise Pascal

I have made this letter longer than usual because I have not had time to make it shorter.

Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.

We run heedlessly into the abyss after putting something in front of us to stop us seeing it.

Man is but a reed, the most feeble thing in nature; but he is a thinking reed.

To make light of philosophy is to be a true philosopher.

Man’s greatness lies in his capacity to recognize his own wretchedness.

We never live, but we hope to live.

When we see a natural style, we are astonished and delighted; for we expected to see an author, and we find a man.

It is not good to be too free. It is not good to have everything one wants.

The greater intellect one has, the more originality one finds in men. Ordinary persons find no difference between men.