Man is only a reed, the weakest thing in nature; but he is a thinking reed.

L'homme n'est qu'un roseau, le plus faible de la nature; mais c'est un roseau pensant.

Blaise Pascal

Pensées

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More information about this quote

Topic

Man and nature Nature of man

Author

Blaise Pascal

Source

Pensées

Medium

Epigram

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

French

Time

1662 1660s 17th century

Occupation

Philosopher Writer

From

France Europe

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Pascal, Blaise. Pensées [Thoughts]. Paris: Chez G. Desprez, 1670, no. 347.

Current Citation

Pascal, Blaise. "Pensées." Pensées and Other Writings, edited by Anthony Levi, translated by Honor Levi. Oxford University Press, 2008, no. 347.

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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 1660s

Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.

John Milton

Paradise Lost

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More information about this quote
Topic
Heaven and hell

Author

John Milton
Source
Paradise Lost
Medium
Poem
Genre
Epic poem Religious literature
Language
English
Time
1667 1660s 17th century
Era
European Renaissance
Authentication Score 3
Original Citation

Milton, John. Paradise Lost. Samuel Simmons, 1667, bk. 1, I. 263.

Current Citation

"Paradise Lost." John Milton: Major Works, edited by Stephen Orgel and Jonathan Goldberg. Oxford University Press, 2008, I. 263.

Another quote about Nature of man

Man is the measure of all things.

Protagoras

Quoted in Theaetetus, by Plato

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More information about this quote
Topic
Nature of man
Speaker
Protagoras

Author

Plato
Source
Theaetetus
Medium
Philosophical dialogue
Genre
Philosophical literature
Language
Greek
Time
420 BC 420s BC 5th century BC
Era
Classical antiquity
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Plato. Θεαίτητος [Theatetus]. c. 400 BC.

Current Citation

Plato. Theatetus, translated by John McDowell. Oxford University Press, 2014.

Another quote originally in French

Of all sexual aberrations perhaps the most curious is chastity.

Remy de Gourmont

More information about this quote
Topic
Chastity

Author

Remy de Gourmont
Source
The Natural Philosophy of Love
Language
French
Time
1903 1900s 20th century
Authentication Score 3
Citation

De Gourmont, Remy. Physique de l'Amor: Essai Sur l'Instinct Sexuel [Physics of Love - Essay on Sexual Instinct]. Mercure de France, 1903, ch. 18.