"How comes it that a cripple does..." - Quote by Blaise Pascal
How comes it that a cripple does not offend us, but a fool does? Because a cripple recognizes that we walk straight, whereas a fool declares that it is we who are silly; if it were not so, we should feel pity and not anger.
More by Blaise Pascal
“Nothing is thoroughly approved but mediocrity. The majority has established this, and it fixes its fangs on whatever gets beyond it either way.”
“Caesar was too old, it seems to me, to go off and amuse himself conquering the world. Such a pastime was all right for Augustus and Alexander; they were young men, not easily held in check, but Caesar ought to have been more mature.”
“All I know is that I must soon die, but what I know least is this very death which I cannot escape.”
More on Perception
“Reality is a sliding door.”
“When you take a man as he is, you make him worse. When you take a man as he can be, you make him better.”
“Shams and delusions are esteemed for soundest truths, while reality is fabulous. If men would steadily observe realities only, and not allow themselves to be deluded, life ... would be like a fairy tale and the Arabian Nights' Entertainments.”
More on Empathy
“You may learn to imitate a birdcall, but do you experience what the nightingale feels for the rose?”
“I think we need to teach children the importance of others, and that they cannot grow in this world without taking in others. The more worlds they take in, these unique worlds, the more they can become. We need to teach them to trust others again, because we're all frightened to death of each other. We're building higher and higher walls, stronger and stronger locks. Tear down the walls! Every day I see how we're distrusting and it hurts.”
“Don't condemn me, remember rather that sometimes I, too, can reach the bursting point.”