“ Men are so necessarily mad, that not to be mad would amount to another form of madness. ”
Blaise Pascal, Pensées (1670). copy citation
| Author | Blaise Pascal |
|---|---|
| Source | Pensées |
| Topic | madness men |
| Date | 1670 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by W. F. Trotter |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18269/18269-h/18269-h.htm |
Context
“[157] But neither can do so, and reason still remains, to condemn the vileness and injustice of the passions, and to trouble[Pg 110] the repose of those who abandon themselves to them; and the passions keep always alive in those who would renounce them.
414 Men are so necessarily mad, that not to be mad would amount to another form of madness. 415 The nature of man may be viewed in two ways: the one according to its end, and then he is great and incomparable; the other according to the multitude, just as we judge of the nature of the horse and the dog, popularly, by seeing its fleetness, et animum arcendi; and then man is abject and vile.” source
414 Men are so necessarily mad, that not to be mad would amount to another form of madness. 415 The nature of man may be viewed in two ways: the one according to its end, and then he is great and incomparable; the other according to the multitude, just as we judge of the nature of the horse and the dog, popularly, by seeing its fleetness, et animum arcendi; and then man is abject and vile.” source
Original quote
Meaning and analysis
