“Continuous eloquence wearies. Grandeur must be abandoned to be appreciated. Continuity in everything is unpleasant. Cold is agreeable, that we may get warm.”
- June 19, 1623 – August 19, 1662
- French
- Mathematician, Physicist, Inventor, Philosopher, Theologian
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Quote
“Continuous eloquence wearies. Grandeur must be abandoned to be appreciated. Continuity in everything is unpleasant. Cold is agreeable, that we may get warm.”
Explanation
Pascal observes that human appreciation is deeply tied to contrast, variety, and interruption. Unbroken eloquence or constant grandeur, rather than delighting, exhausts us, because the mind craves change and relief. Things are best valued in relation to their absence—we savor warmth because we’ve known cold, and we admire greatness because it’s not unceasing. Endless continuity dulls perception, making even the most beautiful or powerful experiences feel monotonous.
This idea reflects Pascal’s larger view in Pensées of human nature as inherently restless, limited, and paradoxical. We seek fulfillment but are never satisfied by constancy alone. In a world where pleasures fade and attention shifts, what is interrupted or balanced by contrast becomes more meaningful. Pascal saw this not as weakness, but as a sign of our design—meant to push us beyond earthly delights toward something more enduring and divine.
In modern life, this insight has clear resonance. Whether in art, speech, entertainment, or even comfort, unrelieved intensity becomes oppressive, and true enjoyment often lies in rhythm, not excess. Pascal’s quote reminds us that to preserve value, we must allow for rest, silence, and change, and that life’s greatest experiences are not continuous, but heightened by contrast. Beauty needs pause, and grandeur needs distance, for the soul to truly respond.
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