--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We have so exalted a notion of the human…" description: "\"We have so exalted a notion of the human soul that we cannot bear to be despised, or even not to be esteemed by it. Man, in fact, places all his happin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/579/blaise-pascal-167_bears_we-have-so-exalted-a-notion-of-the-human_1989326.jpg" --- # We have so exalted a notion of the human soul that we… ![“We have so exalted a notion of the human soul that we cannot bear to be despised, or even not to be esteemed by it. Man, in fact, places all his happiness in this esteem.” quote by Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/579/blaise-pascal-167_bears_we-have-so-exalted-a-notion-of-the-human_1989326.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/579/blaise-pascal-167_bears_we-have-so-exalted-a-notion-of-the-human_1989326.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/579/blaise-pascal-167_bears_we-have-so-exalted-a-notion-of-the-human_1989326.jpg) > “We have so exalted a notion of the human soul that we cannot bear to be despised, or even not to be esteemed by it. Man, in fact, places all his happiness in this esteem.” [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 happiness depends on self‑esteem; we crave respect from our own soul. **In simple terms:** We seek esteem from our soul for happiness. Key Takeaway Cultivate inner self‑respect. Themes self‑esteem human nature happiness philosophy Mood introspective thoughtful Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - therapy - personal development - spiritual practice Key Concepts existentialism psychology ethics Questions to Reflect On - How do you nurture inner esteem? - What happens when external validation fails? A Different Perspective Self‑esteem can be fragile. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bears/) [Esteem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/esteem/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Human soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-soul/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) ## Related quotes > [Speak but little and well, if you would be esteemed as a man of merit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-chenevix-trench/speak-but-little-and-well-if-you-would-be-esteemed-as-a-man-of-merit/) [Richard Chenevix Trench](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-chenevix-trench/) > [Noble deeds that are concealed are most esteemed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/noble-deeds-that-are-concealed-are-most-esteemed/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [Blessed is the servant who esteems himself no more highly when he is praised and exalted by people than when he is considered worthless,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-of-assisi/blessed-is-the-servant-who-esteems-himself-no-more-highly-when-he-is/) [Francis of Assisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-of-assisi/) > [A shepherd, in whom the spirit of God works, is more highly esteemed before God than the wisest and most potent in self-wit, without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakob-bohme/a-shepherd-in-whom-the-spirit-of-god-works-is-more-highly-esteemed/) [Jakob Bohme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-bohme/) > [I want it understood that all these men fought for principle, not for plunder, and that they were true-hearted, honorable soldiers, fighting for what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cole-younger/i-want-it-understood-that-all-these-men-fought-for-principle-not-for/) [Cole Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cole-younger/) > [Even a nod from a person who is esteemed is of more force than a thousand arguments or studied sentences from others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plutarch/even-a-nod-from-a-person-who-is-esteemed-is-of-more-force-than-a/) [Plutarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plutarch/) > [No man can have much kindness for him by whom he does not believe himself esteemed, and nothing so evidently proves esteem as imitation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/no-man-can-have-much-kindness-for-him-by-whom-he-does-not-believe/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [He who does not think much of himself is much more esteemed than he imagines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/he-who-does-not-think-much-of-himself-is-much-more-esteemed-than-he/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“I learned that the possessions most esteemed by your fellow-creatures were, high and unsullied descent united with riches. A man might be respected with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-shelley/i-learned-that-the-possessions-most-esteemed-by-your-fellow-creatures/) [Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/) > [Women are far and away the bigger consumers of fiction than men, but men are still far and away the more reviewed, the more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-weiner/women-are-far-and-away-the-bigger-consumers-of-fiction-than-men-but/) [Jennifer Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-weiner/) > [Let a man (as most men do) rate themselves as the highest Value they can; yet their true Value is no more than it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/let-a-man-as-most-men-do-rate-themselves-as-the-highest-value-they/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [The only basis on which to work for God is an esteemed appreciation of his deliverance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/the-only-basis-on-which-to-work-for-god-is-an-esteemed-appreciation/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [That prince is highly esteemed who conveys this impression of himself, and he who is highly esteemed is not easily conspired against; for, provided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/that-prince-is-highly-esteemed-who-conveys-this-impression-of-himself/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [The military is the most esteemed American institution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brianna-keilar/the-military-is-the-most-esteemed-american-institution/) [Brianna Keilar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brianna-keilar/) > [“He who is highly esteemed is not easily conspired against”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolo-machiavelli/he-who-is-highly-esteemed-is-not-easily-conspired-against/) [Nicolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolo-machiavelli/) ## 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 Bears quotes > [For not only every democracy, but certainly every republic, bears within itself the seeds of its own destruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-not-only-every-democracy-but-certainly-every-republic-bears/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [She'd read once that if you ran into a bear in the woods you should avoid eye contact and you shouldn't run away, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-ursu/she-d-read-once-that-if-you-ran-into-a-bear-in-the-woods-you-should/) [Anne Ursu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-ursu/) > [In the movie, the stars above the ship bear no correspondence to any constellations in a real sky. Worse yet, while the heroine bobs...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-the-movie-the-stars-above-the-ship-bear-no-correspondence-to-any/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Television series are like the stock market. There's room for bears and bulls but no room for pigs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-newhart/television-series-are-like-the-stock-market-there-s-room-for-bears/) [Bob Newhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-newhart/) > [The Germans are the most philosophic people in the world, and the greatest smokers: now I trace their philosophy to their smoking. Smoking has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-henry-borrow/the-germans-are-the-most-philosophic-people-in-the-world-and-the/) [George Henry Borrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-henry-borrow/) > [...Gratitude transforms the torment of memory of good things now gone into silent joy. One bears what was lovely in the past not as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/gratitude-transforms-the-torment-of-memory-of-good-things-now-gone/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [You've had a whole lot of experience, but everything is also radically new at each moment, and you have to bring a kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-houston/you-ve-had-a-whole-lot-of-experience-but-everything-is-also-radically/) [Jean Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-houston/) > [The rationale which accompanies that imposition of male authority euphemistically referred to as 'the battle of the sexes' bears a certain resemblance to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-millett/the-rationale-which-accompanies-that-imposition-of-male-authority/) [Kate Millett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-millett/) > [Pay no heed to the passing religious vogue. Go back to the grass roots. Open your hearts and search the Scriptures. Bear your cross,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/pay-no-heed-to-the-passing-religious-vogue-go-back-to-the-grass-roots/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [I want you to take a red-hot bath as hot as you can bear it, and just relax your nerves. You can read in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-want-you-to-take-a-red-hot-bath-as-hot-as-you-can-bear-it-and-just/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [He sank into the rocking chair, the same one in which Rebecca had sat during the early days of the house to give embroidery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/he-sank-into-the-rocking-chair-the-same-one-in-which-rebecca-had-sat/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [Some things in this world just ain't meant to be, not in the times we want 'em to, and the heart has to hold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/some-things-in-this-world-just-ain-t-meant-to-be-not-in-the-times-we/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) > [And if anyone knows anything about anything," said Bear to himself, "it's Owl who knows something about something," he said, "or my name's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-if-anyone-knows-anything-about-anything-said-bear-to-himself-it-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm totally independent. I don't bear any responsibility to any system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-m-totally-independent-i-don-t-bear-any-responsibility-to-any-system/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [I'm supportive of women, absolutely, and it's so gratifying to have girls come up and say, 'I'm really inspired by your guitar playing.' I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-vincent/i-m-supportive-of-women-absolutely-and-it-s-so-gratifying-to-have/) [St. Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-vincent/) [Browse all 4,111 Bears quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bears/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We have so exalted a notion of the human soul that we cannot bear to be despised, or even not to be esteemed by it. Man, in fact, places all his happiness in this esteem.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Blaise Pascal" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/we-have-so-exalted-a-notion-of-the-human-soul-that-we-cannot-bear-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bears" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/we-have-so-exalted-a-notion-of-the-human-soul-that-we-cannot-bear-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/579/blaise-pascal-167_bears_we-have-so-exalted-a-notion-of-the-human_1989326.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/579/blaise-pascal-167_bears_we-have-so-exalted-a-notion-of-the-human_1989326.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/579/blaise-pascal-167_bears_we-have-so-exalted-a-notion-of-the-human_1989326.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We have so exalted a notion of the human soul that we cannot bear to be despised, or even not to be esteemed…” — 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": "We have so exalted a notion...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/we-have-so-exalted-a-notion-of-the-human-soul-that-we-cannot-bear-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/we-have-so-exalted-a-notion-of-the-human-soul-that-we-cannot-bear-to/#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 } } ] } ```