"Man is but a reed, the most feeble thing in nature, but he is a thinking reed. The entire universe need not arm itself to crush him. A vapor, a drop of water suffices to kill him. But, if the universe were to crush him, man would still be more noble than that which killed him, because he knows that he dies and the advantage which the universe has over him, the universe knows nothing of this.
All our dignity then, consists in thought. By it we must elevate ourselves, and not by space and time which we cannot fill. Let us endavour then, to think well; this is the principle of morality"
It seems like he was more than just a mathematician, but a philosopher too. After a near-death experience and an encounter with God, he abandoned math and science and became a Christian Philosopher.
Not to mention quite a hairdo
I found a nice blog post from a Randy Alcorn speaking of finding happiness and Pascal's philosophies. Check it out! I'll end with another Pascal quote:
All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end. The cause of some going to war, and of others avoiding it, is the same desire in both, attended with different views. The will never takes the least step but to this object. This is the motive of every action of every man, even of those who hang themselves. (Pascal’s Pensées, thought #425, edited by Trotter, 113).
No comments:
Post a Comment