Justice and power must be brought together, so that whatever is just may be powerful, and whatever is powerful may be just.
Blaise PascalRead
Continuous eloquence wearies. Grandeur must be abandoned to be appreciated. Continuity in everything is unpleasant. Cold is agreeable, that we may get warm.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that constant eloquence and grandeur can lead to fatigue, and that a variety of experiences makes appreciation possible.
Blaise Pascal's quote reflects on the nature of appreciation and contrast in experiences. He argues that excessive eloquence and grandeur can become tiresome, highlighting the importance of moments of simplicity and modesty. By stating that continuity can lead to discomfort, he emphasizes that without contrasts—like cold to appreciate warmth—life's richness is diminished. This philosophy advocates for a balance between high and low, simplicity and complexity, to truly appreciate and experience life.
Themes
EloquenceGrandeurContinuityAppreciationContrast
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of variety in life experiences.
More from Blaise Pascal
All quotes →If we submit everything to reason our religion will be left with nothing mysterious or supernatural. If we offend the principles of reason our religion will be absurd and ridiculous . . . There are two equally dangerous extremes: to exclude reason, to admit nothing but reason.
Blaise PascalRead
Those are weaklings who know the truth and uphold it as long as it suits their purpose, and then abandon it.
Blaise PascalRead
Jesus is the God whom we can approach without pride and before whom we can humble ourselves without despair.
Blaise PascalRead
If he exalts himself, I humble him. If he humbles himself, I exalt him. And I go on contradicting him Until he understands That he is a monster that passes all understanding.
Blaise PascalRead
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?
Blaise PascalRead
Similar quotes
All words, in every language, are metaphors.
Marshall McluhanRead
Bad times, hard times, this is what people keep saying; but let us live well, and times shall be good. We are the times: Such as we are, such are the times.
Saint AugustineRead
It is not true that evil, destructiveness , and perversion inevitably form part of human existence, no matter how often this is maintained. But it is true that we are daily producing more evil and, with it, an ocean of suffering for millions that is absolutely avoidable. When one day the ignorance arising from childhood repression is eliminated and humanity has awakened, an end can be put to this production of evil.
Alice MillerRead
To catch the real meaning of the Spirit of Christmas, we need only drop the last syllable, and it becomes the Spirit of Christ.
Thomas S. MonsonRead
Most gods throw dice, but Fate plays chess, and you don't find out til too late that he's been playing with two queens all along.
Terry PratchettRead
I'm afraid that in the United States of America today the prevailing doctrine of justification is not justification by faith alone. It is not even justification by good works or by a combination of faith and works. The prevailing notion of justification in our culture today is justification by death. All one has to do to be received into the everlasting arms of God is to die.
R. C. SproulRead