“Time heals griefs and quarrels, for we change and are no longer the same persons. Neither the offender nor the offended are any more themselves.”
- June 19, 1623 – August 19, 1662
- French
- Mathematician, Physicist, Inventor, Philosopher, Theologian
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Quote
“Time heals griefs and quarrels, for we change and are no longer the same persons. Neither the offender nor the offended are any more themselves.”
Explanation
Pascal reflects on the transformative power of time, suggesting that emotional wounds—griefs, offenses, and conflicts—fade not simply because they are resolved, but because we ourselves change over time. As the days and years pass, our identities, perspectives, and emotions evolve, so much so that those involved in a past quarrel are no longer the same people who experienced it. Thus, healing occurs less through reconciliation than through the quiet, natural shifting of the self.
This view aligns with Pascal’s broader recognition in Pensées of human mutability and fragility. He saw that nothing in human life remains fixed—our desires, opinions, and judgments are constantly in flux. Time, then, is not only a passive force but an agent of transformation. In this quote, forgiveness becomes possible not necessarily through deliberate moral effort, but through the sheer fact that people grow and forget, move on and mature, often unconsciously.
In modern life, Pascal’s observation holds deep psychological truth. Old wounds may lose their sting not because the wrong was righted, but because the individuals involved have outgrown the pain. People look back at earlier disputes with detachment or even surprise at how deeply they once felt. His quote invites a gentle humility: recognizing that change is constant, and that time softens what once seemed permanent, opening the way for peace without confrontation.
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