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

L'homme n'est ni ange ni bete; et le malheur veut qu qui veut faire l'ange fait la bete.

Blaise Pascal

Pensées

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More information about this quote

Topic

Nature of man

Author

Blaise Pascal

Source

Pensées

Medium

Epigram

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

French

Time

1670 1670s 17th century

Occupation

Philosopher Writer

From

France Europe

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Pascal, Blaise. Pensées [Thoughts]. Paris: Chez G. Desprez, 1670, no. 23.

Current Citation

Pascal, Blaise. "Pensées." Pensées and Other Writings, edited by Anthony Levi, translated by Honor Levi. Oxford University Press, 2008, no. 23.

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Related Quotes

Below are one or more quotes that share at least one tag with the quote at the top of the page

Another quote by Blaise Pascal

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, feeble earth-worn, depository of truth, a sink of uncertainty and error, the glory and the shame of the universe.

Blaise Pascal

Pensées

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More information about this quote
Topic
Duality of man Nature of man

Author

Blaise Pascal
Source
Pensées
Medium
Epigram
Genre
Philosophical literature
Language
French
Time
1670 1670s 17th century
Authentication Score 3
Original Citation

Pascal, Blaise. Pensées [Thoughts]. Paris: Chez G. Desprez, 1670, no. 4.

Current Citation

Pascal, Blaise. "Pensées." Pensées and Other Writings, edited by Anthony Levi, translated by Honor Levi. Oxford University Press, 2008, no. 4.

Another quote from the 1670s

He who would distinguish the true from the false must have an adequate idea of what is true and false.

Baruch Spinoza

Ethics

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More information about this quote
Topic
Truth and falsehood

Author

Baruch Spinoza
Source
Ethics
Medium
Treatise
Genre
Philosophical literature
Language
Latin
Time
1677 1670s 17th century
Authentication Score 3
Original Citation

Spinoza, Baruch. Ethica, Ordine Geometrico Desmonstrata [Ethics, Demonstrated in Geometrical Order]. 1677, pt. 2, prop. 42, proof.

Current Citation

Spinoza, Benedict. Ethics, translated by Michael Silverthorne and Matthew J. Kinser. Cambridge University Press, 2018, pt. 2, prop. 42, proof.

Another quote about Nature of man

There are many wonderful things, and nothing is more wonderful than man.

Sophocles

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More information about this quote
Topic
Nature of man Man and animals

Author

Sophocles
Source
Antigone
Medium
Play
Genre
Tragic play Greek theater
Language
Greek
Time
441 BC 440s 5th century BC
Era
Classical antiquity
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Sophocles. Ἀντιγόνη [Antigone]. c. 441 BC, Festival of Dionysus, Athens, Greece.

Current Citation

Sophocles. "Antigone." The Oedipus Cycle: Oedipus Rex; Oedipus at Colonus; Antigone, translated by Dudley Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald. Mariner Books, 2002.

Another quote originally in French

Man is the only creature who refuses to be what he is.

Albert Camus

The Rebel

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More information about this quote
Topic
Human nature Being oneself Authenticity The human condition

Author

Albert Camus
Source
The Rebel
Genre
Political literature
Language
French
Time
1951 1950s 20th century
Authentication Score 3
Citation

Camus, Albert. L'Homme Revolte [The Rebel]. Gallimard, 1951.