SPACEDK · DAILY CLASSICS · 07:00 CST
The Daily Classics Library
At 7:00 every morning in Beijing, 500 complete sayings, verses, reflections, or stories are selected from edition- and rights-verified books, then read again in historical and contemporary context.
Verification rule: Unsourced internet quotations are excluded. Every item records its work, authorship or traditional attribution, translator, locator, source revision, and rights status. “Complete” means a self-contained saying, verse, reflection, or story—not copying an entire protected modern book.
Pensées
Pensées · Section VI · 368
Simple guide for children under seven
What it means: Today’s item 261, “Pensées · Pensées · Section …… · Section VI · fragment 368,” can mean this: The first thought in your mind may be wrong. Look for clues and think again.
Try this: After a task, check whether it truly helped someone.
Important reminder: Being brave does not mean taking unsafe risks. Leave danger and find a trusted adult.
For adults: historical and edition context
Pascal left these unfinished fragments amid seventeenth-century French scientific development, religious controversy, and illness, probably for a projected Christian apology. Modern grouping and numbering reflect Brunschvicg’s editorial decisions rather than a finished authorial order. Analysis distinguishes religious argument, mathematics, historical evidence, and personal experience.
- Period
- 17th-century France; early modern science and religious controversy
- Region
- France
- Work date
- Fragments written mainly c. 1657–1662; Brunschvicg edition published 1897–1925
- Edition
- Léon Brunschvicg edition, Section VI
Check the complete text with an adult
Open the edition-verified text
Quand on dit que le chaud n’est que le mouvement de quelques globules, et la lumière le conatus recedendi que nous sentons, cela nous étonne. Quoi ! que le plaisir ne soit autre chose que le ballet des esprits ? Nous en avons conçu une si différente idée ! et ces sentiments-là nous semblent si éloignés de ces autres que nous disons être les mêmes que ceux que nous leur comparons ! Le sentiment du feu, cette chaleur qui nous affecte d’une manière tout autre que l’attouchement, la réception du son et de la lumière, tout cela nous semble mystérieux, et cependant cela est grossier comme un coup de pierre. Il est vrai que la petitesse des esprits qui entrent dans les pores touche d’autres nerfs, mais ce sont toujours des nerfs touchés.
論語
雍也第六 · 六之八
Simple guide for children under seven
What it means: Today’s item 262, “論語 · 雍也第六 · 六之八 · 六之八,” can mean this: Things change, so we can pause and choose carefully.
Try this: Observe first and guess second. Change your mind when clues change.
Important reminder: This is one reading, not a rule that is always right. Tell a trusted adult about danger, bullying, or pain.
For adults: historical and edition context
Confucius lived amid political fragmentation and changing ritual order in the late Spring and Autumn period. The Analects was compiled over time by disciples and later circles, not recorded as a verbatim transcript. This item is fixed to a specific Wikisource revision.
- Period
- 春秋末至战国编集 / late Spring and Autumn to Warring States compilation
- Region
- 中国 / China
- Work date
- 约公元前5—3世纪逐步编集
- Edition
- 中文维基文库《論語》雍也第六
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伯牛有疾，子問之，自牖執其手，曰：「亡之，命矣夫！斯人也，而有斯疾也！斯人也，而有斯疾也！」
Meditations
Meditations · Book 5, passage 37
Simple guide for children under seven
What it means: Today’s item 263, “Meditations · Meditations · …… 5, passage 37 · book-5-p-37,” can mean this: When someone is hurt, listen and help repair the harm.
Try this: Today, listen until another person finishes, then answer.
Important reminder: Being brave does not mean taking unsafe risks. Leave danger and find a trusted adult.
For adults: historical and edition context
Marcus Aurelius governed in the second century CE amid frontier wars, imperial administration, and the Antonine plague. The Meditations are private Greek exercises; the exact date and place of individual notes are often uncertain. This edition uses George Long’s 1862 translation.
- Period
- Roman Empire, 2nd century CE; 1862 English translation
- Region
- Roman Empire / United Kingdom edition
- Work date
- Original notes c. 170s CE; translation first published 1862
- Edition
- Standard Ebooks edition of George Long’s translation
Check the complete text with an adult
Open the edition-verified text
If this is neither my own badness, nor an effect of my own badness, and the common weal is not injured, why am I troubled about it? And what is the harm to the common weal?
論語
季氏第十六 · 十六之七
Simple guide for children under seven
What it means: Today’s item 264, “論語 · 季氏第十六 · 十六之七 · 十六之七,” can mean this: Life and time are precious. Care for yourself and the people around you.
Try this: Give gentle care to a person, animal, or plant today.
Important reminder: Do not judge a person from one sentence. Check what happened and think with a trusted adult.
For adults: historical and edition context
Confucius lived amid political fragmentation and changing ritual order in the late Spring and Autumn period. The Analects was compiled over time by disciples and later circles, not recorded as a verbatim transcript. This item is fixed to a specific Wikisource revision.
- Period
- 春秋末至战国编集 / late Spring and Autumn to Warring States compilation
- Region
- 中国 / China
- Work date
- 约公元前5—3世纪逐步编集
- Edition
- 中文维基文库《論語》季氏第十六
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孔子曰：「君子有三戒：少之時，血氣未定，戒之在色；及其壯也，血氣方剛，戒之在鬭；及其老也，血氣既衰，戒之在得。」
Pensées
Pensées · Section VII · 546
Simple guide for children under seven
What it means: Today’s item 265, “Pensées · Pensées · Section ……· Section VII · fragment 546,” can mean this: Life and time are precious. Care for yourself and the people around you.
Try this: If something is hard today, say, “Please help me.”
Important reminder: Being brave does not mean taking unsafe risks. Leave danger and find a trusted adult.
For adults: historical and edition context
Pascal left these unfinished fragments amid seventeenth-century French scientific development, religious controversy, and illness, probably for a projected Christian apology. Modern grouping and numbering reflect Brunschvicg’s editorial decisions rather than a finished authorial order. Analysis distinguishes religious argument, mathematics, historical evidence, and personal experience.
- Period
- 17th-century France; early modern science and religious controversy
- Region
- France
- Work date
- Fragments written mainly c. 1657–1662; Brunschvicg edition published 1897–1925
- Edition
- Léon Brunschvicg edition, Section VII
Check the complete text with an adult
Open the edition-verified text
Sans Jésus-Christ, il faut que l’homme soit dans le vice et dans la misère ; avec Jésus-Christ, l’homme est exempt de vice et de misère. En lui est toute notre vertu et toute notre félicité. Hors de lui, il n’y a que vice, misère, erreurs, ténèbres, mort, désespoir.
Pensées
Pensées · Section V · 326
Simple guide for children under seven
What it means: Today’s item 266, “Pensées · Pensées · Section ……6 · Section V · fragment 326,” can mean this: When angry, pause first. Let your body settle, then explain why.
Try this: Tell a trusted adult one thing you learned today.
Important reminder: Being brave does not mean taking unsafe risks. Leave danger and find a trusted adult.
For adults: historical and edition context
Pascal left these unfinished fragments amid seventeenth-century French scientific development, religious controversy, and illness, probably for a projected Christian apology. Modern grouping and numbering reflect Brunschvicg’s editorial decisions rather than a finished authorial order. Analysis distinguishes religious argument, mathematics, historical evidence, and personal experience.
- Period
- 17th-century France; early modern science and religious controversy
- Region
- France
- Work date
- Fragments written mainly c. 1657–1662; Brunschvicg edition published 1897–1925
- Edition
- Léon Brunschvicg edition, Section V
Check the complete text with an adult
Open the edition-verified text
Injustice. — Il est dangereux de dire au peuple que les lois ne sont pas justes, car il n’y obéit qu’à cause qu’il les croit justes. C’est pourquoi il lui faut dire en même temps qu’il y faut obéir parce qu’elles sont lois, comme il faut obéir aux supérieurs, non pas parce qu’ils sont justes, mais parce qu’ils sont supérieurs. Par là, voilà toute sédition prévenue si on peut faire entendre cela, et [ce] que [c’est] proprement que la définition de la justice.
Epistulae morales ad Lucilium
Seneca · LXXVI. SENECA LUCILIO SUO SALUTEM §35
Simple guide for children under seven
What it means: Today’s item 267, “Epistulae morales ad Luciliu……NECA LUCILIO SUO SALUTEM §35,” can mean this: A first feeling may not be the whole truth. Pause and think again.
Try this: Tell a trusted adult one thing you learned today.
Important reminder: Being brave does not mean taking unsafe risks. Leave danger and find a trusted adult.
For adults: historical and edition context
Seneca’s letters to Lucilius are usually dated to about 62–65 CE, late in Nero’s reign. They combine counsel with deliberate literary composition. Claims about freedom, wealth, and death must be read alongside Roman political danger, hierarchy, and slavery. This item preserves the original Latin at a fixed Wikisource revision.
- Period
- Roman Empire, 1st century CE
- Region
- Roman Empire
- Work date
- Commonly dated to Seneca’s final years, c. 62–65 CE
- Edition
- Latin Wikisource, Liber IX
Check the complete text with an adult
Open the edition-verified text
[35] Ideo sapiens adsuescit futuris malis, et quae alii diu patiendo levia faciunt hic levia facit diu cogitando. Audimus aliquando voces inperitorum dicentium 'sciebam hoc mihi restare': sapiens scit sibi omnia restare; quidquid factum est, dicit 'sciebam'. Vale.
Meditations
Meditations · Book 12, passage 2
Simple guide for children under seven
What it means: Today’s item 268, “Meditations · Meditations · …… 12, passage 2 · book-12-p-2,” can mean this: The first thought in your mind may be wrong. Look for clues and think again.
Try this: After a task, check whether it truly helped someone.
Important reminder: Being brave does not mean taking unsafe risks. Leave danger and find a trusted adult.
For adults: historical and edition context
Marcus Aurelius governed in the second century CE amid frontier wars, imperial administration, and the Antonine plague. The Meditations are private Greek exercises; the exact date and place of individual notes are often uncertain. This edition uses George Long’s 1862 translation.
- Period
- Roman Empire, 2nd century CE; 1862 English translation
- Region
- Roman Empire / United Kingdom edition
- Work date
- Original notes c. 170s CE; translation first published 1862
- Edition
- Standard Ebooks edition of George Long’s translation
Check the complete text with an adult
Open the edition-verified text
God sees the minds [ruling principles] of all men bared of the material vesture and rind and impurities. For with his intellectual part alone he touches the intelligence only which has flowed and been derived from himself into these bodies. And if thou also usest thyself to do this, thou wilt rid thyself of thy much trouble. For he who regards not the poor flesh which envelops him, surely will not trouble himself by looking after raiment and dwelling and fame and suchlike externals and show.
Epistulae morales ad Lucilium
Seneca · CXVI. SENECA LUCILIO SUO SALUTEM §7
Simple guide for children under seven
What it means: Today’s item 269, “Epistulae morales ad Luciliu……ENECA LUCILIO SUO SALUTEM §7,” can mean this: Everyone meets hard choices. We can pause before acting.
Try this: If something is hard today, say, “Please help me.”
Important reminder: Being brave does not mean taking unsafe risks. Leave danger and find a trusted adult.
For adults: historical and edition context
Seneca’s letters to Lucilius are usually dated to about 62–65 CE, late in Nero’s reign. They combine counsel with deliberate literary composition. Claims about freedom, wealth, and death must be read alongside Roman political danger, hierarchy, and slavery. This item preserves the original Latin at a fixed Wikisource revision.
- Period
- Roman Empire, 1st century CE
- Region
- Roman Empire
- Work date
- Commonly dated to Seneca’s final years, c. 62–65 CE
- Edition
- Latin Wikisource, Liber XIX
Check the complete text with an adult
Open the edition-verified text
[7] Occurres hoc loco mihi illa publica contra Stoicos voce: 'nimis magna promittitis, nimis dura praecipitis. Nos homunciones sumus; omnia nobis negare non possumus. Dolebimus, sed parum; concupiscemus, sed temperate; irascemur, sed placabimur.'
Epistulae morales ad Lucilium
Seneca · XCIV. SENECA LUCILIO SUO SALUTEM §54
Simple guide for children under seven
What it means: Today’s item 270, “Epistulae morales ad Luciliu……NECA LUCILIO SUO SALUTEM §54,” can mean this: Everyone meets hard choices. We can pause before acting.
Try this: After a task, check whether it truly helped someone.
Important reminder: Old books can reflect old limits. A child does not need to follow every old rule; ask a trusted adult.
For adults: historical and edition context
Seneca’s letters to Lucilius are usually dated to about 62–65 CE, late in Nero’s reign. They combine counsel with deliberate literary composition. Claims about freedom, wealth, and death must be read alongside Roman political danger, hierarchy, and slavery. This item preserves the original Latin at a fixed Wikisource revision.
- Period
- Roman Empire, 1st century CE
- Region
- Roman Empire
- Work date
- Commonly dated to Seneca’s final years, c. 62–65 CE
- Edition
- Latin Wikisource, Liber XIV – XV
Check the complete text with an adult
Open the edition-verified text
[54] Non licet, inquam, ire recta via; trahunt in pravum parentes, trahunt servi. Nemo errat uni sibi, sed dementiam spargit in proximos accipitque invicem. Et ideo in singulis vitia populorum sunt quia illa populus dedit. Dum facit quisque peiorem, factus est; didicit deteriora, dein docuit, effectaque est ingens illa nequitia congesto in unum quod cuique pessimum scitur.
Epistulae morales ad Lucilium
Seneca · LXXVI. SENECA LUCILIO SUO SALUTEM §10
Simple guide for children under seven
What it means: Today’s item 271, “Epistulae morales ad Luciliu……NECA LUCILIO SUO SALUTEM §10,” can mean this: Nature is not a toy. Observe it, care for it, and do not harm living things.
Try this: Before choosing, count to three and ask, “Is there another way?”
Important reminder: Old books can reflect old limits. A child does not need to follow every old rule; ask a trusted adult.
For adults: historical and edition context
Seneca’s letters to Lucilius are usually dated to about 62–65 CE, late in Nero’s reign. They combine counsel with deliberate literary composition. Claims about freedom, wealth, and death must be read alongside Roman political danger, hierarchy, and slavery. This item preserves the original Latin at a fixed Wikisource revision.
- Period
- Roman Empire, 1st century CE
- Region
- Roman Empire
- Work date
- Commonly dated to Seneca’s final years, c. 62–65 CE
- Edition
- Latin Wikisource, Liber IX
Check the complete text with an adult
Open the edition-verified text
[10] Quid est in homine proprium? ratio: haec recta et consummata felicitatem hominis implevit. Ergo si omnis res, cum bonum suum perfecit, laudabilis est et ad finem naturae suae pervenit, homini autem suum bonum ratio est, si hanc perfecit laudabilis est et finem naturae suae tetigit. Haec ratio perfecta virtus vocatur eademque honestum est.
Dhammapada
Dhammapada · XXV:397
Simple guide for children under seven
What it means: Today’s item 272, “Dhammapada · Dhammapada · XXV:397 · XXV:397,” can mean this: Everyone meets hard choices. We can pause before acting.
Try this: Before choosing, count to three and ask, “Is there another way?”
Important reminder: Being brave does not mean taking unsafe risks. Leave danger and find a trusted adult.
For adults: historical and edition context
The Dhammapada is an anthology of Pali Buddhist verses shaped by long transmission and compilation, so a verifiable occasion cannot be assigned to each verse. This source uses Max Müller’s 1881 translation and keeps its nineteenth-century philological vocabulary visible.
- Period
- Ancient Indian Buddhist tradition; 1881 English translation
- Region
- South Asia / United Kingdom edition
- Work date
- Ancient compilation of uncertain date; translation published 1881
- Edition
- Dhammapada, translated by F. Max Müller, Sacred Books of the East, Vol. X
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Him I call indeed a Brahmana who has cut all fetters, who never trembles, is independent and unshackled.
Pensées
Pensées · Section I · 14
Simple guide for children under seven
What it means: Today’s item 273, “Pensées · Pensées · Section ……14 · Section I · fragment 14,” can mean this: After learning something, practise it and ask for help when needed.
Try this: If something is hard today, say, “Please help me.”
Important reminder: Being brave does not mean taking unsafe risks. Leave danger and find a trusted adult.
For adults: historical and edition context
Pascal left these unfinished fragments amid seventeenth-century French scientific development, religious controversy, and illness, probably for a projected Christian apology. Modern grouping and numbering reflect Brunschvicg’s editorial decisions rather than a finished authorial order. Analysis distinguishes religious argument, mathematics, historical evidence, and personal experience.
- Period
- 17th-century France; early modern science and religious controversy
- Region
- France
- Work date
- Fragments written mainly c. 1657–1662; Brunschvicg edition published 1897–1925
- Edition
- Léon Brunschvicg edition, Section I
Check the complete text with an adult
Open the edition-verified text
Quand un discours naturel peint une passion ou un effet, on trouve dans soi-même la vérité de ce qu’on entend, laquelle on ne savait pas qu’elle y fût, en sorte qu’on est porté à aimer celui qui nous le fait sentir ; car il ne nous a pas fait montre de son bien, mais du nôtre ; et ainsi ce bienfait nous le rend aimable, outre que cette communauté d’intelligence que nous avons avec lui incline nécessairement le cœur à l’aimer.
Epistulae morales ad Lucilium
Seneca · LXXVI. SENECA LUCILIO SUO SALUTEM §16
Simple guide for children under seven
What it means: Today’s item 274, “Epistulae morales ad Luciliu……NECA LUCILIO SUO SALUTEM §16,” can mean this: Real effort makes something better. It is not only looking busy.
Try this: Today, listen until another person finishes, then answer.
Important reminder: Being brave does not mean taking unsafe risks. Leave danger and find a trusted adult.
For adults: historical and edition context
Seneca’s letters to Lucilius are usually dated to about 62–65 CE, late in Nero’s reign. They combine counsel with deliberate literary composition. Claims about freedom, wealth, and death must be read alongside Roman political danger, hierarchy, and slavery. This item preserves the original Latin at a fixed Wikisource revision.
- Period
- Roman Empire, 1st century CE
- Region
- Roman Empire
- Work date
- Commonly dated to Seneca’s final years, c. 62–65 CE
- Edition
- Latin Wikisource, Liber IX
Check the complete text with an adult
Open the edition-verified text
[16] Haec vocatur virtus, hoc est honestum et unicum hominis bonum. Nam cum sola ratio perficiat hominem, sola ratio perfecte beatum facit; hoc autem unum bonum est quo uno beatus efficitur. Dicimus et illa bona esse quae a virtute profecta contractaque sunt, id est opera eius omnia; sed ideo unum ipsa bonum est quia nullum sine illa est.
Epistulae morales ad Lucilium
Seneca · CVIII. SENECA LUCILIO SUO SALUTEM §35
Simple guide for children under seven
What it means: Today’s item 275, “Epistulae morales ad Luciliu……NECA LUCILIO SUO SALUTEM §35,” can mean this: After learning something, practise it and ask for help when needed.
Try this: If something is hard today, say, “Please help me.”
Important reminder: Old books can reflect old limits. A child does not need to follow every old rule; ask a trusted adult.
For adults: historical and edition context
Seneca’s letters to Lucilius are usually dated to about 62–65 CE, late in Nero’s reign. They combine counsel with deliberate literary composition. Claims about freedom, wealth, and death must be read alongside Roman political danger, hierarchy, and slavery. This item preserves the original Latin at a fixed Wikisource revision.
- Period
- Roman Empire, 1st century CE
- Region
- Roman Empire
- Work date
- Commonly dated to Seneca’s final years, c. 62–65 CE
- Edition
- Latin Wikisource, Liber XVII – XVIII
Check the complete text with an adult
Open the edition-verified text
[35] Sed ne et ipse, dum aliud ago, in philologum aut grammaticum delabar, illud admoneo, auditionem philosophorum lectionemque ad propositum beatae vitae trahendam, non ut verba prisca aut ficta captemus et translationes inprobas figurasque dicendi, sed ut pro futura praecepta et magnificas voces et animosas quae mox in rem transferantur. Sic ista ediscamus ut quae fuerint verba sint opera.
論語
八佾第三 · 三之十五
Simple guide for children under seven
What it means: Today’s item 276, “論語 · 八佾第三 · 三之十五 · 三之十五,” can mean this: Real effort makes something better. It is not only looking busy.
Try this: Observe first and guess second. Change your mind when clues change.
Important reminder: Do not judge a person from one sentence. Check what happened and think with a trusted adult.
For adults: historical and edition context
Confucius lived amid political fragmentation and changing ritual order in the late Spring and Autumn period. The Analects was compiled over time by disciples and later circles, not recorded as a verbatim transcript. This item is fixed to a specific Wikisource revision.
- Period
- 春秋末至战国编集 / late Spring and Autumn to Warring States compilation
- Region
- 中国 / China
- Work date
- 约公元前5—3世纪逐步编集
- Edition
- 中文维基文库《論語》八佾第三
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子入太廟，每事問。或曰：「孰謂鄹人之子知禮乎？入太廟，每事問。」子聞之曰：「是禮也！」
Epistulae morales ad Lucilium
Seneca · LXXXVII. SENECA LUCILIO SUO SALUTEM §13
Simple guide for children under seven
What it means: Today’s item 277, “Epistulae morales ad Luciliu……NECA LUCILIO SUO SALUTEM §13,” can mean this: Knowing what is right matters, and doing it matters too.
Try this: Before choosing, count to three and ask, “Is there another way?”
Important reminder: Do not judge a person from one sentence. Check what happened and think with a trusted adult.
For adults: historical and edition context
Seneca’s letters to Lucilius are usually dated to about 62–65 CE, late in Nero’s reign. They combine counsel with deliberate literary composition. Claims about freedom, wealth, and death must be read alongside Roman political danger, hierarchy, and slavery. This item preserves the original Latin at a fixed Wikisource revision.
- Period
- Roman Empire, 1st century CE
- Region
- Roman Empire
- Work date
- Commonly dated to Seneca’s final years, c. 62–65 CE
- Edition
- Latin Wikisource, Liber XI – XIII
Check the complete text with an adult
Open the edition-verified text
[13] His respondebimus, 'non intellegitis quomodo posuerimus quod bonum est in musica. Non enim id dicimus quod instruit musicum, sed quod facit: tu ad supellectilem artis, non ad artem venis. Si quid autem in ipsa arte musica bonum est, id utique musicum faciet.'
Epistulae morales ad Lucilium
Seneca · VII. SENECA LUCILIO SUO SALUTEM §8
Simple guide for children under seven
What it means: Today’s item 278, “Epistulae morales ad Luciliu……ENECA LUCILIO SUO SALUTEM §8,” can mean this: After learning something, practise it and ask for help when needed.
Try this: Tell a trusted adult one thing you learned today.
Important reminder: Old books can reflect old limits. A child does not need to follow every old rule; ask a trusted adult.
For adults: historical and edition context
Seneca’s letters to Lucilius are usually dated to about 62–65 CE, late in Nero’s reign. They combine counsel with deliberate literary composition. Claims about freedom, wealth, and death must be read alongside Roman political danger, hierarchy, and slavery. This item preserves the original Latin at a fixed Wikisource revision.
- Period
- Roman Empire, 1st century CE
- Region
- Roman Empire
- Work date
- Commonly dated to Seneca’s final years, c. 62–65 CE
- Edition
- Latin Wikisource, Liber I
Check the complete text with an adult
Open the edition-verified text
[8] Necesse est aut imiteris aut oderis. Utrumque autem devitandum est: neve similis malis fias, quia multi sunt, neve inimicus multis, quia dissimiles sunt. Recede in te ipse quantum potes; cum his versare qui te meliorem facturi sunt, illos admitte quos tu potes facere meliores. Mutuo ista fiunt, et homines dum docent discunt.
Aesop’s Fables
The Lamb Chased by a Wolf
Simple guide for children under seven
What it means: Today’s item 279, “Aesop’s Fables · The Lamb Ch…… · the-lamb-chased-by-a-wolf,” can mean this: Everyone meets hard choices. We can pause before acting.
Try this: Give gentle care to a person, animal, or plant today.
Important reminder: Old books can reflect old limits. A child does not need to follow every old rule; ask a trusted adult.
For adults: historical and edition context
The Aesopic corpus is a long, changing fable tradition, not a set of individually verifiable utterances by one sixth-century BCE author. Each complete item here is fixed to V. S. Vernon Jones’s 1912 English edition.
- Period
- Ancient Greek tradition; 1912 English edition
- Region
- Ancient Mediterranean / United Kingdom edition
- Work date
- Traditional material associated with the 6th century BCE; translation published 1912
- Edition
- Standard Ebooks edition of the 1912 V. S. Vernon Jones translation
Check the complete text with an adult
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A Wolf was chasing a Lamb, which took refuge in a temple. The Wolf urged it to come out of the precincts, and said, “If you don’t, the priest is sure to catch you and offer you up in sacrifice on the altar.” To which the Lamb replied, “Thanks, I think I’ll stay where I am: I’d rather be sacrificed any day than be eaten up by a Wolf.”
Pensées
Pensées · Section X · 672
Simple guide for children under seven
What it means: Today’s item 280, “Pensées · Pensées · Section ……2 · Section X · fragment 672,” can mean this: The first thought in your mind may be wrong. Look for clues and think again.
Try this: Today, listen until another person finishes, then answer.
Important reminder: Old books can reflect old limits. A child does not need to follow every old rule; ask a trusted adult.
For adults: historical and edition context
Pascal left these unfinished fragments amid seventeenth-century French scientific development, religious controversy, and illness, probably for a projected Christian apology. Modern grouping and numbering reflect Brunschvicg’s editorial decisions rather than a finished authorial order. Analysis distinguishes religious argument, mathematics, historical evidence, and personal experience.
- Period
- 17th-century France; early modern science and religious controversy
- Region
- France
- Work date
- Fragments written mainly c. 1657–1662; Brunschvicg edition published 1897–1925
- Edition
- Léon Brunschvicg edition, Section X
Check the complete text with an adult
Open the edition-verified text
Pour formalistes. — Quand saint Pierre et les apôtres délibèrent d’abolir la circoncision, où il s’agissait d’agir contre la loi de Dieu, ils ne consultent point les prophètes, mais simplement la réception du Saint-Esprit en la personne des incirconcis. Ils jugent plus sûr que Dieu approuve ceux qu’il remplit de son esprit, que non pas qu’il faille observer la loi. Ils savaient que la fin de la loi n’était que le Saint-Esprit ; et qu’ainsi, puisqu’on l’avait bien sans circoncision, elle n’était pas nécessaire.