--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What a chimaera then is man, what a…" description: "\"What a chimaera then is man, what a novelty, what a monster, what chaos, what a subject of contradiction, what a prodigy! Judge of all things, yet an i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5a/blaise-pascal-167_chaos_what-a-chimaera-then-is-man-what-a-novel_1678273.jpg" --- # What a chimaera then is man, what a novelty, what a… ![“What a chimaera then is man, what a novelty, what a monster, what chaos, what a subject of contradiction, what a prodigy! Judge of all things, yet an imbecile earthworm; depository of truth, yet a sewer of uncertainty and error; pride and refuse of the universe. Who shall resolve this tangle?” quote by Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5a/blaise-pascal-167_chaos_what-a-chimaera-then-is-man-what-a-novel_1678273.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5a/blaise-pascal-167_chaos_what-a-chimaera-then-is-man-what-a-novel_1678273.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5a/blaise-pascal-167_chaos_what-a-chimaera-then-is-man-what-a-novel_1678273.jpg) > “What a chimaera then is man, what a novelty, what a monster, what chaos, what a subject of contradiction, what a prodigy! Judge of all things, yet an imbecile earthworm; depository of truth, yet a sewer of uncertainty and error; pride and refuse of the universe. Who shall resolve this tangle?” [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. The quote highlights humanity's paradoxical nature: capable of great insight yet prone to error and folly, embodying both lofty aspirations and base instincts. **In simple terms:** Humans are both brilliant and flawed. Key Takeaway Embrace humility and seek truth. Themes human nature paradox knowledge pride error Mood contemplative critical inquisitive Type aphilosophical reflective motivational When to use this quote - personal reflection - scientific inquiry - ethical decision making - leadership challenges Key Concepts philosophy existentialism dualism Questions to Reflect On - How do you reconcile your strengths with your weaknesses? - What practices help you discern truth amid uncertainty? A Different Perspective Human potential is limited by cognitive biases and emotional turbulence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Chaos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chaos/) [Contradiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradiction/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Monsters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monsters/) [Novelty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelty/) [Pride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pride/) [Prodigies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prodigies/) [Resolve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resolve/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Uncertainty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uncertainty/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) ## Related quotes > [What a chimera then is man. What a novelty! What a monster... what a contradiction, what a prodigy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/what-a-chimera-then-is-man-what-a-novelty-what-a-monster-what-a/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [“What a Chimera is man! What a novelty, a monster, a chaos, a contradiction, a prodigy! Judge of all things, an imbecile worm; depository…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/what-a-chimera-is-man-what-a-novelty-a-monster-a-chaos-a/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [I intend to judge things for myself; to judge wrongly, I think, is more honorable than not to judge at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/i-intend-to-judge-things-for-myself-to-judge-wrongly-i-think-is-more/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [Science teaches us, in effect, to submit our reason to the truth and to know and judge of things as they are-that is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-unamuno/science-teaches-us-in-effect-to-submit-our-reason-to-the-truth-and-to/) [Miguel de Unamuno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-unamuno/) > [You cant judge me for the things I do, if I like them and happy with them, ill do them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teady/you-cant-judge-me-for-the-things-i-do-if-i-like-them-and-happy-with/) $Teady > [“Black and white are nothing more than lofty ideals in our minds, the standards by which we try to judge things, and map out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/black-and-white-are-nothing-more-than-lofty-ideals-in-our-minds-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You can make the best of it and be content, or you can complain, it makes no difference. What does it matter that human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-grillparzer/you-can-make-the-best-of-it-and-be-content-or-you-can-complain-it/) [Franz Grillparzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-grillparzer/) > [We judge all things according to the divine truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/we-judge-all-things-according-to-the-divine-truth/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Your not me, and you have never walked my journey in my shoes then don't judge me for things you don't get.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/your-not-me-and-you-have-never-walked-my-journey-in-my-shoes-then-don/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It is very important to carefully observe the things we see before we judge. Things aren't always as they appear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-j-barrier/it-is-very-important-to-carefully-observe-the-things-we-see-before-we/) [Ellen J. Barrier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-j-barrier/) > [Judge me by the things I do. Not by how I look.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giani-amavari/judge-me-by-the-things-i-do-not-by-how-i-look/) Giani Amavari > [I am reluctant to judge things without being informed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giorgio-moroder/i-am-reluctant-to-judge-things-without-being-informed/) [Giorgio Moroder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giorgio-moroder/) > [I don't care to people who judge me , Because the things that they says doesn't define me , It Defines them . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-delacruz/i-don-t-care-to-people-who-judge-me-because-the-things-that-they-says/) [Nicolas Delacruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-delacruz/) > [Thus we should beware of clinging to vulgar opinions, and judge things by reason's way, not by popular say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/thus-we-should-beware-of-clinging-to-vulgar-opinions-and-judge-things/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [I have no faith in my ability to judge things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ozzy-osbourne/i-have-no-faith-in-my-ability-to-judge-things/) [Ozzy Osbourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ozzy-osbourne/) ## 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 Chaos quotes > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [If I meet a wise person, I think, 'Yes, tell me more about parenting, about marriage, about how to stay in love. Tell me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/min-jin-lee/if-i-meet-a-wise-person-i-think-yes-tell-me-more-about-parenting/) [Min Jin Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/min-jin-lee/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) > [I love Derrick Brown for the surprise of one word waking up next to another. One moment tender, funny or romantic, the next, visceral,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/i-love-derrick-brown-for-the-surprise-of-one-word-waking-up-next-to/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [Chaos often breeds life, when order breeds habit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/chaos-often-breeds-life-when-order-breeds-habit/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [Throughout human history, as our species has faced the frightening, terrorizing fact that we do not know who we are, or where we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/throughout-human-history-as-our-species-has-faced-the-frightening/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [There seems to be a kind of order in the universe…in the movement of the stars and the turning of the Earth and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/there-seems-to-be-a-kind-of-order-in-the-universe-in-the-movement-of/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [In the ring, there's not a lot of room for mistakes. You're in a place that is chaos, that is on fire. That ring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/in-the-ring-there-s-not-a-lot-of-room-for-mistakes-you-re-in-a-place/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [“It was her chaos that made her beautiful. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atticus-poetry/it-was-her-chaos-that-made-her-beautiful/) [Atticus Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atticus-poetry/) > [What we should have done is kept the same team that played in the '95 World Series. Those trades (Eddie Murray & Carlos Baerga)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-belle/what-we-should-have-done-is-kept-the-same-team-that-played-in-the-95/) [Albert Belle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-belle/) > [American civil rights leader, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? Lynching is a murder. For the past four hundred years our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/american-civil-rights-leader-where-do-we-go-from-here-chaos-or/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [“There was beauty in chaos, she'd just never known it before.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-linsmeier/there-was-beauty-in-chaos-she-d-just-never-known-it-before/) [Amanda Linsmeier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-linsmeier/) > [Who’s to say that it takes something like a drug to mess with your perception of reality? How did Hitler deceive a nation? How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/who-s-to-say-that-it-takes-something-like-a-drug-to-mess-with-your/) [Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/) > [And yet, I do believe there is ultimately meaning in the chaos, and also in the doldrums. What I resist is not the truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/and-yet-i-do-believe-there-is-ultimately-meaning-in-the-chaos-and/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [I came to think of myself, not as a dance and chaos of molecules, but as a brief and minute portion of that majestic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/i-came-to-think-of-myself-not-as-a-dance-and-chaos-of-molecules-but/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) [Browse all 2,640 Chaos quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chaos/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What a chimaera then is man, what a novelty, what a monster, what chaos, what a subject of contradiction, what a prodigy! Judge of all things, yet an imbecile earthworm; depository of truth, yet a sewer of uncertainty and error; pride and refuse of the universe. 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