"The only good thing for men therefore is to be diverted from thinking of what they are . . . but they do not answer like that because they do not know themselves" (#136, second part is much further on)
"One must know oneself. Even if that does not help in finding truth, at least it helps in running one's life, and nothing is more proper . . ." (#72)
"We know the truth not only through our reason but also through our heart . . . principles are felt, propositions proved . . ." (#110)
". . . it is most valuable to represent both to him. Man must . . . know both [animals and angels, to which his nature is related]." (#121)
"Thus we can know God properly only by knowing our own iniquities." (#189)
"I want him to consider nature just once, seriously and at leisure, and to look at himself as well . . ." (#199)
"The Christian religion alone is appropriate for all, being a blend of external and internal." (#219)
As I read, I was most interested in whether or not Pascal thought truth should be found by looking inside oneself. I have a bias towards this view, so I was on the lookout for quotes concerning this issue, which is why I have so many... sorry! But anyway. First Pascal seemed to agree, then he very clearly said the opposite, and finally he seemed to return to his original point of view. Does he mean that it is not enough to only look at oneself? I can agree with that, but isn't looking inwards still the proper starting point? Isn't this what Pascal himself did? But he also said that to consider oneself, to be alone with one's thoughts, is to be unhappy. Is worldly happiness so important then? Are we really unhappy when we think of ourselves? Should't we have a dual feeling to fit our dual natures, both exultation and despair?
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