“The only good thing for men therefore is to be diverted from thinking ...” — Blaise Pascal Quote

“The only good thing for men therefore is to be diverted from thinking of what they are, either by some occupation which takes their mind off it, or by some novel and agreeable passion which keeps them busy, like gambling, hunting, some absorbing show, in short by what is called diversion.”

“If we examine our thoughts, we shall find them always occupied with the past and the future.”

“Between us and heaven or hell there is only life, which is the frailest thing in the world.”

“There are some who speak well and write badly. For the place and the audience warm them, and draw from their minds more than they think of without that warmth.”

“If you gain, you gain all. If you lose, you lose nothing. Wager then, without hesitation, that He exists.”

“I can well conceive a man without hands, feet, head. But I cannot conceive man without thought; he would be a stone or a brute.”

“There is no right or wrong time; everything happens at perfect time.”

“Was it my time for writing poems about McCarthy or my time for sending out fresh salmon or the time of playing happy telephone or my time for dictating memoranda about what's wrong with America?... or my time for crying.”

“Time is a valuable resource; if you choose to appreciate and use it judiciously, you will achieve good results.”

“Life is simply the long undressing for the dark endless night.”

“Day, n. A period of twenty-four hours, mostly misspent.”

“Nostalgia is a necessary thing, I believe, and a way for all of us to find peace in that which we have accomplished, or even failed to accomplish. At the same time, if nostalgia precipitates actions to return to that fabled, rosy-painted time, particularly in one who believes his life to be a failure, then it is an empty thing, doomed to produce nothing but frustration and an even greater sense of failure.”