Pensées S457 / L533, by Blaise Pascal

Blaise Pascal, Pensées
331
When we think of Plato and Aristotle, we ought not see them in the splendid robes of the academy. They were straightforward folks like most of us. They laughed with friends over coffee and cocktails and then went off and amused themselves by writing their Laws and their Politics. It was a diverting pastime. Their philosophical writings were the least serious part of their lives. More philosophical by far was to live simply and quietly. If they wrote treatises on politics, it was the same as proposing rules for a lunatic asylum; and if they presented themselves as speaking about serious subjects, it was because they knew that the madmen, to whom they spoke, thought of themselves as kings and emperors. Their aim was to try and make sure the reigning madness caused the least possible damage.