---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Chance gives rise to thoughts, and chance…"
description: "\"Chance gives rise to thoughts, and chance removes them; no art can keep or acquire them.\" — Blaise Pascal"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bc/blaise-pascal-167_acquire_chance-gives-rise-to-thoughts-and-chance_1130761.jpg"
---

#  Chance gives rise to thoughts, and chance removes them; no…

![“Chance gives rise to thoughts, and chance removes them; no art can keep or acquire them.” quote by Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bc/blaise-pascal-167_acquire_chance-gives-rise-to-thoughts-and-chance_1130761.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bc/blaise-pascal-167_acquire_chance-gives-rise-to-thoughts-and-chance_1130761.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bc/blaise-pascal-167_acquire_chance-gives-rise-to-thoughts-and-chance_1130761.jpg)

> “Chance gives rise to thoughts, and chance removes them; no art can keep or acquire them.”

[Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Chance creates and destroys thoughts; ideas are fleeting and cannot be owned.

**In simple terms:** Ideas come and go randomly.

Key Takeaway

Accept the impermanence of thoughts.

Themes

uncertainty creativity ephemerality

Mood

thoughtful philosophical

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- brainstorming sessions
- creative blocks
- decision making
- learning processes

Key Concepts

philosophy cognitive science

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you capture fleeting ideas?
- Can randomness be harnessed creatively?

A Different Perspective

Randomness can hinder planning.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance/) [Luck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luck/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughts/)

## Related quotes

> [“Each of these thoughts which you have chance to read from mein... came stages in my life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deyth-banger/each-of-these-thoughts-which-you-have-chance-to-read-from-mein-came/)

Deyth Banger

> [“Thoughts which have no chance of succeeding do not take the trouble to come into your head at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flann-o-brien/thoughts-which-have-no-chance-of-succeeding-do-not-take-the-trouble/)

[Flann O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flann-o-brien/)

> [Chance gives a smile to the one who is ready to take it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hiroko-sakai/chance-gives-a-smile-to-the-one-who-is-ready-to-take-it/)

[Hiroko Sakai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hiroko-sakai/)

> [Second Chance: Who gives a fuck about your first love. Give a big round of applause for your second love, cause they taught you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/second-chance-who-gives-a-fuck-about-your-first-love-give-a-big-round/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Of course, looking at other young players getting a chance gives you a boost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reece-james/of-course-looking-at-other-young-players-getting-a-chance-gives-you-a/)

[Reece James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reece-james/)

> [Chance often gives us that which we should not have presumed to ask.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-de-lamartine/chance-often-gives-us-that-which-we-should-not-have-presumed-to-ask/)

[Alphonse de Lamartine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-de-lamartine/)

> [Ballet is pure and demands that you serve something larger than yourself, whether it be beauty or art, or a combination of both. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-martins/ballet-is-pure-and-demands-that-you-serve-something-larger-than/)

Peter Martins

> [Have you ever wanted something so badly that you would do anything, believe anything in order to acquire it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorraine-heath/have-you-ever-wanted-something-so-badly-that-you-would-do-anything/)

[Lorraine Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorraine-heath/)

> [The best way for women to acquire knowledge is from conversation with a father, a brother, or a friend, in the way of family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-letitia-barbauld/the-best-way-for-women-to-acquire-knowledge-is-from-conversation-with/)

[Anna Letitia Barbauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-letitia-barbauld/)

> [Wasn't Saddam destroyed? Wasn't Gaddafi liquidated? Didn't Milosevic go to the Hague? All true. But Stalin survived. Kim Jong-un isn't doing too badly, either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fisk/wasn-t-saddam-destroyed-wasn-t-gaddafi-liquidated-didn-t-milosevic-go/)

[Robert Fisk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fisk/)

> [This was Shakespeare's form ; Who walk'd in every path of human life, Felt every passion ; and to all mankind Doth now, will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-akenside/this-was-shakespeare-s-form-who-walk-d-in-every-path-of-human-life/)

[Mark Akenside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-akenside/)

> [Acquire worldly wisdom and adjust your behavior accordingly. If your new behavior gives you a little temporary unpopularity with your peer group then to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/acquire-worldly-wisdom-and-adjust-your-behavior-accordingly-if-your/)

[Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/)

> [Humility is an elusive virtue. The more we pursue it - and the more we seem to acquire it - the more we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-aquilina/humility-is-an-elusive-virtue-the-more-we-pursue-it-and-the-more-we/)

[Mike Aquilina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-aquilina/)

> [ If the State does not acquire supremacy over \[vast private\] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy-over-vast-private-enterprises/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

> [Most people seek after what they do not possess and are enslaved by the very things they want to acquire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anwar-sadat/most-people-seek-after-what-they-do-not-possess-and-are-enslaved-by/)

[Anwar Sadat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anwar-sadat/)

## More by Blaise Pascal

> [“Do they think that they have given us great pleasure by telling us that they hold our soul to be no more than wind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/do-they-think-that-they-have-given-us-great-pleasure-by-telling-us/)

[Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/)

> [There should be in eloquence that which is pleasing and that which is real; but that which is pleasing should itself be real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/there-should-be-in-eloquence-that-which-is-pleasing-and-that-which-is/)

[Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/)

> [The method of not erring is sought by all the world. The logicians profess to guide it, the geometricians alone attain it, and apart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/the-method-of-not-erring-is-sought-by-all-the-world-the-logicians/)

[Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/)

> [When we read too fast or too slowly, we understand nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/when-we-read-too-fast-or-too-slowly-we-understand-nothing/)

[Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/)

> [Mahomet established a religion by putting his enemies to death; Jesus Christ by commanding his followers to lay down their lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/mahomet-established-a-religion-by-putting-his-enemies-to-death-jesus/)

[Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/)

> [Reflect on death as in Jesus Christ, not as without Jesus Christ. Without Jesus Christ it is dreadful, it is alarming, it is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/reflect-on-death-as-in-jesus-christ-not-as-without-jesus-christ/)

[Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/)

> [The Stoics say, "Retire within yourselves; it is there you will find your rest." And that is not true. Others say, "Go out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/the-stoics-say-retire-within-yourselves-it-is-there-you-will-find/)

[Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/)

> [Happiness can be found neither in ourselves nor in external things, but in God and in ourselves as united to him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/happiness-can-be-found-neither-in-ourselves-nor-in-external-things/)

[Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/)

> [Amusement that is excessive and followed only for its own sake, allures and deceives us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/amusement-that-is-excessive-and-followed-only-for-its-own-sake/)

[Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/)

> [Rivers are highways that move on and bear us whither we wish to go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/rivers-are-highways-that-move-on-and-bear-us-whither-we-wish-to-go/)

[Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/)

> [We desire truth, and find within ourselves only uncertainty. We seek happiness, and find only misery and death. We cannot but desire truth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/we-desire-truth-and-find-within-ourselves-only-uncertainty-we-seek/)

[Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/)

> [Vanity is illustrated in the cause and effect of love, as in the case of Cleopatra.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/vanity-is-illustrated-in-the-cause-and-effect-of-love-as-in-the-case/)

[Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/)

> [“There is no denying it; one must admit that there is something astonishing about Christianity. 'It is because you were born in it,' they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/there-is-no-denying-it-one-must-admit-that-there-is-something/)

[Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/)

> [Imagination is the deceptive part in man, the mistress of error and falsehood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/imagination-is-the-deceptive-part-in-man-the-mistress-of-error-and/)

[Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/)

> [The majority is the best way, because it is visible, and has strength to make itself obeyed. Yet it is the opinion of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/the-majority-is-the-best-way-because-it-is-visible-and-has-strength/)

[Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/)

[Explore all 988 Blaise Pascal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/)

## More Acquire quotes

> [Most people seek after what they do not possess and are enslaved by the very things they want to acquire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anwar-sadat/most-people-seek-after-what-they-do-not-possess-and-are-enslaved-by/)

[Anwar Sadat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anwar-sadat/)

> [ If the State does not acquire supremacy over \[vast private\] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy-over-vast-private-enterprises/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

> [Humility is an elusive virtue. The more we pursue it - and the more we seem to acquire it - the more we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-aquilina/humility-is-an-elusive-virtue-the-more-we-pursue-it-and-the-more-we/)

[Mike Aquilina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-aquilina/)

> [Acquire worldly wisdom and adjust your behavior accordingly. If your new behavior gives you a little temporary unpopularity with your peer group then to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/acquire-worldly-wisdom-and-adjust-your-behavior-accordingly-if-your/)

[Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/)

> [This was Shakespeare's form ; Who walk'd in every path of human life, Felt every passion ; and to all mankind Doth now, will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-akenside/this-was-shakespeare-s-form-who-walk-d-in-every-path-of-human-life/)

[Mark Akenside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-akenside/)

> [Wasn't Saddam destroyed? Wasn't Gaddafi liquidated? Didn't Milosevic go to the Hague? All true. But Stalin survived. Kim Jong-un isn't doing too badly, either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fisk/wasn-t-saddam-destroyed-wasn-t-gaddafi-liquidated-didn-t-milosevic-go/)

[Robert Fisk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fisk/)

> [The best way for women to acquire knowledge is from conversation with a father, a brother, or a friend, in the way of family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-letitia-barbauld/the-best-way-for-women-to-acquire-knowledge-is-from-conversation-with/)

[Anna Letitia Barbauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-letitia-barbauld/)

> [Have you ever wanted something so badly that you would do anything, believe anything in order to acquire it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorraine-heath/have-you-ever-wanted-something-so-badly-that-you-would-do-anything/)

[Lorraine Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorraine-heath/)

> [Ballet is pure and demands that you serve something larger than yourself, whether it be beauty or art, or a combination of both. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-martins/ballet-is-pure-and-demands-that-you-serve-something-larger-than/)

Peter Martins

> [You can't know it all. No matter how smart you are, no matter how comprehensive your education, no matter how wide ranging your experience,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/you-can-t-know-it-all-no-matter-how-smart-you-are-no-matter-how/)

[Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/)

> [A better distribution of incomes would increase that efficiency by diverting a great fund of wealth from the useless to the useful members of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lippmann/a-better-distribution-of-incomes-would-increase-that-efficiency-by/)

[Walter Lippmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lippmann/)

> [I know well, Monsieur, how much you have to endure in your present duty, and I ask Our Lord to strengthen you in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-de-paul/i-know-well-monsieur-how-much-you-have-to-endure-in-your-present-duty/)

[Vincent de Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-de-paul/)

> [The enemy's spies who have come to spy on us must be sought out, tempted with bribes, led away and comfortably housed. Thus they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/the-enemy-s-spies-who-have-come-to-spy-on-us-must-be-sought-out/)

[Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/)

> [In the late 1950s a major topic under discussion was whether Canada should acquire nuclear weapons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-charles-polanyi/in-the-late-1950s-a-major-topic-under-discussion-was-whether-canada/)

[John Charles Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-charles-polanyi/)

> [Shamanism is a path of knowledge, not of faith, and that knowledge cannot come from me or anyone else in this reality. To acquire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-harner/shamanism-is-a-path-of-knowledge-not-of-faith-and-that-knowledge/)

[Michael Harner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-harner/)

Browse all 1,020 Acquire quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Chance gives rise to thoughts, and chance removes them; no art can keep or acquire them.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Blaise Pascal"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/chance-gives-rise-to-thoughts-and-chance-removes-them-no-art-can-keep/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Acquire"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/chance-gives-rise-to-thoughts-and-chance-removes-them-no-art-can-keep/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bc/blaise-pascal-167_acquire_chance-gives-rise-to-thoughts-and-chance_1130761.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bc/blaise-pascal-167_acquire_chance-gives-rise-to-thoughts-and-chance_1130761.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bc/blaise-pascal-167_acquire_chance-gives-rise-to-thoughts-and-chance_1130761.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Chance gives rise to thoughts, and chance removes them; no art can keep or acquire them.” — Blaise Pascal",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Blaise Pascal",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Chance gives rise to thoughts, and...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/chance-gives-rise-to-thoughts-and-chance-removes-them-no-art-can-keep/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/chance-gives-rise-to-thoughts-and-chance-removes-them-no-art-can-keep/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
