11/13/2011

the greatest of our miseries

The only thing which consoles us for our miseries is diversion, and yet this is the greatest of our miseries. For it is this which principally hinders us from reflecting upon ourselves, and which makes us insensibly ruin ourselves. Without this we should be in a state of weariness, and this weariness would spur us to seek a more solid means of escaping from it. But diversions amuse us and lead us unconsciously to death.

- Blaise Pascal's Pensée #171, entitled "Misery"

1 comment:

Neblina said...

after reading this all I could think about was the mother of all diversions: alcohol, which most certainly can unconsciously lead to death...