Saturday, February 14, 2009

February 14: Love Always Young (Vol. 48, pp. 411-421)

It's Valentines Day and nothing says love quite like...Pascal?

Yes, Pascal is who was selected for this day's reading, and it's not as off the wall as you might think. In his "Discourse on the Passion of Love," he throws away the math and science that so infused his work and focused upon the greatest of all human emotions.

Thankfully, Pascal doesn't try to figure out a mathematical formula for love. He understands that "man is born for pleasure; he feels it, no other proof of it is needed." Further, "love has no age, it is always young;" it "gives intellect and is sustained by intellect." Most importantly, "the first effect of love is to inspire a profound respect."

Well, he is French, after all...

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