--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The sole cause of man's unhappiness is…" description: "\"The sole cause of man's unhappiness is that he does not know how to stay quietly in his room.\" — Blaise Pascal" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ac/blaise-pascal-167_causes_the-sole-cause-of-man-s-unhappiness-is-t_680083.jpg" --- # The sole cause of man's unhappiness is that he does not… ![“The sole cause of man's unhappiness is that he does not know how to stay quietly in his room.” quote by Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ac/blaise-pascal-167_causes_the-sole-cause-of-man-s-unhappiness-is-t_680083.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ac/blaise-pascal-167_causes_the-sole-cause-of-man-s-unhappiness-is-t_680083.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ac/blaise-pascal-167_causes_the-sole-cause-of-man-s-unhappiness-is-t_680083.jpg) > “The sole cause of man's unhappiness is that he does not know how to stay quietly in his room.” [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. Human unhappiness stems from inability to find peace in solitude and quiet reflection. **In simple terms:** Unhappiness comes from not being able to sit quietly. Key Takeaway Cultivate comfort with solitude. Themes solitude inner peace unhappiness Mood contemplative calm Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal meditation - creative work - stress relief - spiritual practice Key Concepts existentialism self‑reflection Questions to Reflect On - How can you practice sitting still without distraction? - What benefits arise from regular quiet time? A Different Perspective Quietness may be uncomfortable for those accustomed to constant stimulation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Sadness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sadness/) [Unhappiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unhappiness/) ## Related quotes > [Silence. All human unhappiness comes from not knowing how to stay quietly in a room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/silence-all-human-unhappiness-comes-from-not-knowing-how-to-stay/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [On the occasions when I have pondered over men's various activities, the dangers and worries they are exposed to at court or at war,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/on-the-occasions-when-i-have-pondered-over-men-s-various-activities-2/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [“I have discovered that all the unhappiness of men arises from one single fact, that they cannot stay quietly in their own chamber.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/i-have-discovered-that-all-the-unhappiness-of-men-arises-from-one/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [All the unhappiness of men arises from one single fact, that they cannot stay quietly in their own chamber.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/all-the-unhappiness-of-men-arises-from-one-single-fact-that-they/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [On the occasions when I have pondered over men's various activities, the dangers and worries they are exposed to at Court or at war,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/on-the-occasions-when-i-have-pondered-over-men-s-various-activities/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [“Look, Hasse,” said I, “you stay quietly here as long as you like. I must be going. There’s cognac in the wardrobe if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/look-hasse-said-i-you-stay-quietly-here-as-long-as-you-like-i-must-be/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [“The sole cause of man’s unhappiness,” Pascal wrote in his Pensées, “is that he does not know how to stay quietly in his room.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lou-weisman/the-sole-cause-of-man-s-unhappiness-pascal-wrote-in-his-pens-es-is/) [Mary-Lou Weisman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lou-weisman/) > [All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/all-of-humanity-s-problems-stem-from-man-s-inability-to-sit-quietly/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [“all of man's problems come from the inability to sit quietly in a room.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/all-of-man-s-problems-come-from-the-inability-to-sit-quietly-in-a-room/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [“comes with me everywhere. I bend down and quietly put her out of the room. She whines and”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippa-gregory/comes-with-me-everywhere-i-bend-down-and-quietly-put-her-out-of-the/) [Philippa Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippa-gregory/) > [“Most unhappiness comes from not being able to sit quietly in a room.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-penny/most-unhappiness-comes-from-not-being-able-to-sit-quietly-in-a-room/) [Louise Penny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-penny/) > [When I have occasionally set myself to consider the different distractions of men, the pains and perils to which they expose themselves I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/when-i-have-occasionally-set-myself-to-consider-the-different/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [“Once that is clearly understood, I think that each of us can stay quietly in the state in which nature has placed him. since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/once-that-is-clearly-understood-i-think-that-each-of-us-can-stay/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [Man's Unhappiness, as I construe, comes of his Greatness; it is because there is an Infinite in him, with which all his cunning he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/man-s-unhappiness-as-i-construe-comes-of-his-greatness-it-is-because/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Never believe straight off in a man's unhappiness. Ask him if he can still sleep. If the answer's "yes," all's well. That is enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/never-believe-straight-off-in-a-man-s-unhappiness-ask-him-if-he-can/) [Louis-Ferdinand Celine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) ## 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. 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