“Too much and too little wine. Give him none, he cannot find truth; give him too much, the same.”
- June 19, 1623 – August 19, 1662
- French
- Mathematician, Physicist, Inventor, Philosopher, Theologian
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Quote
“Too much and too little wine. Give him none, he cannot find truth; give him too much, the same.”
Explanation
Pascal uses wine metaphorically to illustrate the importance of balance in human perception and judgment. Without wine—symbolizing emotion, inspiration, or perhaps a loosening of rigid reason—a person may be too restrained or unimaginative to perceive deeper truths. But with too much wine—representing excess, indulgence, or irrationality—the mind becomes clouded and unreliable. Truth lies between the extremes of cold reason and wild abandon, in a delicate harmony of clarity and sensitivity.
This reflects Pascal’s broader philosophy in Pensées, where he frequently explores the tension between reason and emotion, faith and doubt. He believed that the human condition is inherently paradoxical: we are neither pure intellect nor pure instinct, but a mixture of both. Thus, our search for truth must respect the boundaries of reason while also acknowledging the role of the heart, intuition, and mystery. Too rigid a reliance on reason excludes the transcendent; too emotional an approach loses coherence.
Today, Pascal’s metaphor is still powerful. In science, politics, or personal life, too little imagination can make us blind to nuance, while too much emotion can lead to error or extremism. His message is timeless: truth demands moderation—not in the sense of compromise, but of clarity tempered by feeling, and feeling guided by clarity. Whether with wine, ideas, or belief, temperance remains essential to wisdom.
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