If there is a god, He is infinitely incomprehensible, since, having neither parts
nor limits, He has no affinity to us. We are then incapable of knowing either what He is
or if He is....
..."god is, or He is not." But to which side shall we incline? Reason can decide
nothing here. There is an infinite chaos which separated us. A game is being played at the
extremity of this infinite distance where heads or tails will turn up. What will you
wager? According to reason, you can do neither the one thing nor the other; according to
reason, you can defend neither of the propositions.
Do not, then, reprove for error those who have made a choice; for you know nothing
about it. "No, but I blame them for having made, not this choice, but a choice; for
again both he who chooses heads and he who chooses tails are equally at fault, they are
both in the wrong. The true course is not to wager at all."
Yes; but you must wager. It is not optional. You are embarked. Which will you
choose then? Let us see. Since you must choose, let us see which interests you least. You
have two things to lose, the true and the good; and two things to stake, your reason and
your will, your knowledge and your happiness; and your nature has two things to shun,
error and misery. Your reason is no more shocked in choosing one rather than the other,
since you must of necessity choose. This is one point settled. But your happiness? Let us
weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that god is. Let us estimate these two chances. If
you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation
that He is.
From Pascal's Pensées
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Last updated 12/16/2010