Justice and power must be brought together, so that whatever is just may be powerful, and whatever is powerful may be just.
Blaise PascalRead
Kind words produce their own image in men's souls; and a beautiful image it is. They soothe and quiet and comfort the hearer. They shame him out of his sour, morose, unkind feelings. We have not yet begun to use kind words in such abundance as they ought to be used.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Kind words have a powerful, uplifting effect on people's emotions and well-being.
Blaise Pascal emphasizes the importance and transformative power of kind words, suggesting that they create a positive impact on the soul of the listener. He believes that kindness can replace negative emotions and that society has not fully embraced the use of kind words, indicating a need for greater emphasis on kindness in communication.
Themes
KindnessWordsEmotionsComfortCommunication
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about the power of positivity.
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.
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Those are weaklings who know the truth and uphold it as long as it suits their purpose, and then abandon it.
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Jesus is the God whom we can approach without pride and before whom we can humble ourselves without despair.
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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.
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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
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