An open library of thought
Measure reason by what exceeds it.
Bodies, minds and charity form three orders separated by infinite distances: physical power cannot measure intellectual greatness, and genius cannot measure the holiness of charity.
Archimedes is great among minds without princely rank, as a king is great in power without being a geometer.
When reason cannot settle whether God exists, yet one must live one way or the other, Pascal weighs a finite stake against a possible infinite gain.
A reader who cannot believe is advised to act as believers do, so that habit may quiet the passions that stand in the way.
Diversion is the restless pursuit of activity and company by which people avoid thinking about their mortality, ignorance and unhappiness.
A hunter would refuse the hare as a gift: what he wants is the chase, which keeps his mind elsewhere.
The geometric mind reasons rigorously from a few clear principles, while the mind of finesse grasps at a glance many subtle principles that cannot all be stated.
A mathematician may misjudge people, while a perceptive observer may lose patience with definitions and proofs.