Q0059
Blaise Pascal
A verified English rendering from the curated archive.
English
The heart has its reasons, which reason does not know.
Source context
This English passage is associated with Pensées §200 (Brunschvicg), within the tradition of Early Modern Thought. The wording below is a verified rendering prepared for careful reading rather than a claim of unique translation authority.
A short reading
Read in the register of beauty, the sentence asks the reader to test an assumption rather than to collect a slogan. In Blaise Pascal's wider work, similar claims are usually offered as prompts for judgment: what would have to be true for the sentence to hold, and what would follow if it did?
How to cite this quotation
APA: Blaise Pascal. (n.d.). The heart has its reasons, which reason does not know. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0059
MLA: Blaise Pascal. “The heart has its reasons, which reason does….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0059.
Chicago: Blaise Pascal. “The heart has its reasons, which reason does….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0059.