--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Vanity is so firmly anchored in man's…" description: "\"“Vanity is so firmly anchored in man's heart that a soldier, a camp follower, a cook or a porter will boast and expect admirers, and even philosophers ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21e/blaise-pascal-167_vanity_vanity-is-so-firmly-anchored-in-man-s-he_714002.jpg" --- # Vanity is so firmly anchored in man's heart that a… ![“Vanity is so firmly anchored in man's heart that a soldier, a camp follower, a cook or a porter will boast and expect admirers, and even philosophers want them; those who write against them want to enjoy the prestige of having written well, those who read them want the prestige of having read…” quote by Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21e/blaise-pascal-167_vanity_vanity-is-so-firmly-anchored-in-man-s-he_714002.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21e/blaise-pascal-167_vanity_vanity-is-so-firmly-anchored-in-man-s-he_714002.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21e/blaise-pascal-167_vanity_vanity-is-so-firmly-anchored-in-man-s-he_714002.jpg) > ““Vanity is so firmly anchored in man's heart that a soldier, a camp follower, a cook or a porter will boast and expect admirers, and even philosophers want them; those who write against them want to enjoy the prestige of having written well, those who read them want the prestige of having read them, and perhaps I who write this want the same thing.”” [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 vanity drives people to seek admiration in all roles, including scholars, creating a cycle of prestige seeking. **In simple terms:** People crave praise, even in intellectual work. Key Takeaway Recognize and temper the desire for external validation. Themes vanity prestige human nature Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - academic publishing - political leadership - social media - personal ambition Key Concepts ego social status motivation Questions to Reflect On - Why do we seek approval in intellectual pursuits? - How can we balance humility with confidence? A Different Perspective The pursuit of prestige can undermine genuine integrity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Admirers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/admirers/) [Admirers Philosophers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/admirers-philosophers-5625184/) [Expect Admirers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expect-admirers-5625185/) [Vanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vanity/) [Vanity Firmly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vanity-firmly-5625183/) ## Related quotes > [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/) > [How vain is painting, which is admired for reproducing the likeness of things whose originals are not admired.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/how-vain-is-painting-which-is-admired-for-reproducing-the-likeness-of/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [Curiosity is only vanity. We usually only want to know something so that we can talk about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/curiosity-is-only-vanity-we-usually-only-want-to-know-something-so/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [What a strange vanity painting is; it attracts admiration by resembling the original, we do not admire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/what-a-strange-vanity-painting-is-it-attracts-admiration-by/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [All the excesses, all the violence, and all the vanity of great men, come from the fact that they know not what they are:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/all-the-excesses-all-the-violence-and-all-the-vanity-of-great-men/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [Admirers can be a tremendous force for conservatism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/admirers-can-be-a-tremendous-force-for-conservatism/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [Virtue, like a dowerless beauty, has more admirers than followers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-vaughan/virtue-like-a-dowerless-beauty-has-more-admirers-than-followers/) [Bill Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-vaughan/) > [Those 40 or 50 national correspondents who had followed Kennedy since the beginning of his electoral exertions into the November days had become more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-white/those-40-or-50-national-correspondents-who-had-followed-kennedy-since/) [Theodore White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-white/) > [“But having mastered the art of descending the stairs to a gathering of admirers, she had yet to master the art of ascending the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/but-having-mastered-the-art-of-descending-the-stairs-to-a-gathering/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“To know how many are jealous of you, count your admirers”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/to-know-how-many-are-jealous-of-you-count-your-admirers/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [“But most admirers were like that; they thought they were doing you an enormous favour by admiring you. And how much more they admired…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/but-most-admirers-were-like-that-they-thought-they-were-doing-you-an/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [I think it takes a very generous and tolerant non-famous partner to stick with the famous person, especially if s/he wasn't famous when they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-sneed/i-think-it-takes-a-very-generous-and-tolerant-non-famous-partner-to/) [Christine Sneed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-sneed/) > [Haters are just confused admirers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-bieber/haters-are-just-confused-admirers/) [Justin Bieber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-bieber/) > [At school I had only admirers; I had no friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/at-school-i-had-only-admirers-i-had-no-friends/) [V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/) > [“If imitation is the highest form of flattery, than Christians have become pop culture’s most devoted admirers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/skye-jethani/if-imitation-is-the-highest-form-of-flattery-than-christians-have/) [Skye Jethani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/skye-jethani/) ## 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 Vanity quotes > [“When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but with creatures bristling with prejudice and motivated by pride and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/when-dealing-with-people-remember-you-are-not-dealing-with-creatures/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) > [“Will you destroy something in order to make it beautiful? Will you avoid something in order to fall in love with it? Will you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-hassan-barbhuiya/will-you-destroy-something-in-order-to-make-it-beautiful-will-you/) [Hanif Hassan Barbhuiya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-hassan-barbhuiya/) > [It is sure that those are most desirous of honour or glory who cry out loudest of its abuse and the vanity of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/it-is-sure-that-those-are-most-desirous-of-honour-or-glory-who-cry/) [Baruch Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/) > [She had been dragged in the most humiliating of all dusts, the dust reserved for older women who let themselves be approached, on amorous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/she-had-been-dragged-in-the-most-humiliating-of-all-dusts-the-dust/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [“What a situation!' cried Miss Squeers; '...What is the reason that men fall in love with me, whether I like it or not, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/what-a-situation-cried-miss-squeers-what-is-the-reason-that-men-fall/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“Al-Lah alone decides whether we live or die. The rest is vanity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-jones/al-lah-alone-decides-whether-we-live-or-die-the-rest-is-vanity/) [Sherry Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-jones/) > [We are all potentially such sick men. The sanest and best of us are of one clay with lunatics and prison-inmates. And whenever we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-are-all-potentially-such-sick-men-the-sanest-and-best-of-us-are-of/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [When we live our lives not for vanity, but for the sake of God and the betterment of humanity, that's what gives us immortality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-farrakhan/when-we-live-our-lives-not-for-vanity-but-for-the-sake-of-god-and-the/) [Louis Farrakhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-farrakhan/) > [That which is called liberality is frequently nothing more than the vanity of giving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/that-which-is-called-liberality-is-frequently-nothing-more-than-the/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > ['Vanity Fair' is a left-wing rag.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ailes/vanity-fair-is-a-left-wing-rag/) [Roger Ailes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ailes/) > [We did a 'Vanity Fair' spread for 'The Hunger Games,' and we were on set, and I saw a little head pop up from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-ludwig/we-did-a-vanity-fair-spread-for-the-hunger-games-and-we-were-on-set/) [Alexander Ludwig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-ludwig/) > [“What if this is a horrible mistake?" I croaked. "Oh, it'll be horrible fine, just a bunch of pretentious rich people with shelves of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruta-sepetys/what-if-this-is-a-horrible-mistake-i-croaked-oh-it-ll-be-horrible/) [Ruta Sepetys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruta-sepetys/) > [“You have broken the ice, though you have not even scratched its glossy surface: you have placed your hand upon the croup of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/you-have-broken-the-ice-though-you-have-not-even-scratched-its-glossy/) [Honoré de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [I think you are a liar because you think you know what is true. You think you feel what is true. But you do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-croggon/i-think-you-are-a-liar-because-you-think-you-know-what-is-true-you/) [Alison Croggon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-croggon/) > [“...It often seemed to her that she thought too much about herself, you could have made her blush any day of the year, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/it-often-seemed-to-her-that-she-thought-too-much-about-herself-you/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) [Browse all 1,659 Vanity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vanity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Vanity is so firmly anchored in man's heart that a soldier, a camp follower, a cook or a porter will boast and expect admirers, and even philosophers want them; those who write against them want to enjoy the prestige of having written well, those who read them want the prestige of having read them, and perhaps I who write this want the same thing.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Blaise Pascal" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/vanity-is-so-firmly-anchored-in-man-s-heart-that-a-soldier-a-camp/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Vanity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/vanity-is-so-firmly-anchored-in-man-s-heart-that-a-soldier-a-camp/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21e/blaise-pascal-167_vanity_vanity-is-so-firmly-anchored-in-man-s-he_714002.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21e/blaise-pascal-167_vanity_vanity-is-so-firmly-anchored-in-man-s-he_714002.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21e/blaise-pascal-167_vanity_vanity-is-so-firmly-anchored-in-man-s-he_714002.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Vanity is so firmly anchored in man's heart that a soldier, a camp follower, a cook or a porter will boast…” — 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": "“Vanity is so firmly anchored in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/vanity-is-so-firmly-anchored-in-man-s-heart-that-a-soldier-a-camp/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/vanity-is-so-firmly-anchored-in-man-s-heart-that-a-soldier-a-camp/#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 } } ] } ```