Blaise Pascal

Cleopatra's nose: had it been shorter, the whole face of the world would have been changed.

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

The greatness of man is great in that he knows himself to be miserable.

The last act is bloody, however fine all the rest of the play, — at the last a little earth is thrown upon our head, and that is the end forever.

What a chimera then is man! What a novelty! What a monster, what a chaos, what a contradiction, what a prodigy! Judge of all things, imbecile worm of the earth, depository of truth, a sewer of uncertainty and error, the glory and the scum of the universe!

Man is neither angel nor beast, and the misfortune is that he who would act the angel acts the beast.

We are so presumptuous that we wish to be known to all the world, even to those who will follow us when we are no more.

The supreme function of reason is to show man that there is nothing beyond reason.

The will is one of the chief organs of belief, not because it creates belief, but because things are either true or false according to the side on which we look at them.

What is the 'I'? A man at a window sees the passers-by; if I pass by, can I say that he saw me? No; for he did not think of me in particular. But if he loves someone, and I am that someone, then he loves me.

The only difference between a madman and me is that I am not mad.

There are only two kinds of men: the righteous who believe themselves sinners, and the sinners who believe themselves righteous.

We know the truth, not only by reason, but also by the heart.

Man's condition is inconsistency, boredom, anxiety.

If we would purify the heart, we must purify the understanding.

The greatest evil is war.

All that is in the world is lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life.

The self is hateful.

The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know.

We are never at home, but always beyond.