Nonobstant ces misères, l'homme veut être heureux, et ne veut être qu'heureux, et ne peut ne vouloir pas l'être; mais comment s'y prendra-t-il? Il faudrait, pour bien faire, qu'il se rendît immortel; mais, ne le pouvant, il s'est avisé de s'empêcher d'y penser.
About the headline (FAQ)
Note: the line-breaks are arbitrary. This is prose.Text Authorship:
- by Blaise Pascal (1623 - 1662), no title, appears in Pensées, first published 1670 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, adapted by W. F. Trotter , no title GER ; composed by Hanns Eisler.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Heinrich F. S. Bachmair)
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2003-10-20
Line count: 5
Word count: 43
Despite these miseries, man wishes to be happy, and only wishes to be happy, and cannot wish not to be so. But how will he set about it? To be happy he would have to make himself immortal. But, not being able to do so, it has occurred to him to prevent himself from thinking of death.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Blaise Pascal, Thoughts, translated by W.F. Trotter, New York: P.F. Collier & Son, 1910, page 64, number 169.
Note: the line-breaks are arbitrary. This is prose.Text Authorship:
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Blaise Pascal (1623 - 1662), no title, appears in Pensées, first published 1670
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Hanns Eisler (1898 - 1962), "Despite these miseries, man wishes to be happy", 1942-3, from Zwei Lieder nach Worten von Pascal, no. 1. [text verified 1 time]
- by Hanns Eisler (1898 - 1962), "Despite these miseries", from Hollywooder Liederbuch, no. 17. [text verified 1 time]
Research team for this page: Auditorium du Louvre , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2003-10-20
Line count: 5
Word count: 57