Justice and power must be brought together, so that whatever is just may be powerful, and whatever is powerful may be just.
Blaise PascalRead
If they [Plato and Aristotle] wrote about politics it was as if to lay down rules for a madhouse. And if they pretended to treat it as something really important it was because they knew that the madmen they were talking to believed themselves to be kings and emperors. They humored these beliefs in order to calm down their madness with as little harm as possible.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote critiques the nature of politics and the delusions of those in power, suggesting that philosophers acknowledge and navigate the madness of political belief.
Blaise Pascal reflects on the futility and absurdity of politics as perceived by the likes of Plato and Aristotle. He argues that these philosophers, while acknowledging the seriousness of political matters, approached the subject with a sense of irony, recognizing that they were dealing with individuals who hold irrational beliefs about power and authority. By humorously engaging with these delusions, they aimed to mitigate the chaos inherent in political discourse, suggesting that a certain level of acknowledgment can serve to ease madness in society.
Themes
PoliticsMadnessPowerPhilosophyBeliefs
In practice
Example use cases
During a lecture on political philosophy, one might quote Pascal to illustrate the absurdity in political beliefs.
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
We haven't yet got eyes that can gaze into all the splendour that God has created, but we shall get them one day; and that will be the finest fairy tale of all, for we shall be in it ourselves.
Hans Christian AndersenRead
In Christianity neither morality nor religion come into contact with reality at any point.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
I don't want other people to decide who I am. I want to decide that for myself. I want to avoid becoming too styled and too 'done' and too generic. You see people as they go through their career, and they just become more and more like everyone else.
Emma WatsonRead
If it had been possible to build the Tower of Babel without climbing it, it would have been permitted.
Franz KafkaRead
The half is greater than the whole.
HesiodRead
There are two classes of Christians: the proud who imagine they are humble and the humble who are afraid they are proud. There should be another class: the self-forgetful who leave the whole thing in the hands of Christ and refuse to waste any time trying to make themselves good. They will reach the goal far ahead of the rest.
Aiden Wilson TozerRead