The Pensees by Blaise Pascal are a wonderful look into the mind of a brilliant young French philosopher from the 1600's. You don't have to be in France to enjoy this treasure however I would absolutely encourage reading through the Pensees with some French bread and baked brie cheese to dip the French bread in. I like baking my brie with brown sugar on it. YUM!
My first suggestion is to either check this book out from the library or order it/buy it from a store BUT to get you started here are some of Blaise's thoughts to make you think:
"The heart has its reasons which reason knows not." - Blaise Pascal
"Every Religion is false which, as to its faith, does not worship one God as the origin of everything and which, as to its morality, does not love one only God as the object of everything."-#487 Blaise Pascal
"The feeble-minded are people who know the truth, but only affirm it so far as consistent with their own interest. But, apart from that they renounce it." -#583 Pascal
"What is the Ego?
Suppose a man puts himself at a window to see those who pass by. If I pass by, can I say that he placed himself there to see me? No; for he does not think of me in particular. But deoes he who loves someone on account of beauty really love that person? No; for the small-pox, which will kill beauty without killing the person, will cause him to love her no more.
An if one loves me for my judgement, memory, he does not love me, for I can lose these qualities without losing myself. Where, then, is this Ego, if it be neither in the body nor in the soul? And how love the body or the soul, except for these qualities which do not constitute me since they are perishable? For it is impossible and would be unjust to love the soul of a person in the abstract and whatever qualities might be therein. We never, then, love a person but only qualities.
Let us, then, jeer no more at those who are honored on account of rank and office; for we love a person only on account of borrowed qualities" -#323 Pascal
Hope you've enjoyed these Pensees, I would love to hear what your pensees are about them :]
