Translation
On your Saturday, February 13 program, you made a
reference to a quotation about our unhappiness to stay alone in
a hotel room. I don't know where that version comes from, but
it sure made me smile. The original quotation is from Blaise
Pascal, a French 17th-century mathematician and Christian
philosopher. He wrote some "Thoughts" and one of them comes
under his heading "Diversion." He wrote: "All of mens'
unhappiness comes from one thing alone, which is their inability
to stay quiet, in a room." What he meant is that humankind is
unable to sit still and contemplate its metaphysical nature and
destiny and is always looking for diversions. In French, for
the record: "Tout le malheur des hommes vient d'une seule
chose, qui est de ne savoir pas demeurer en repos, dans une
chambre". [nowadays we would say de ne pas savoir...]. So
that's the original and even if you take out "hotel", I suppose
it still works on a travel-oriented program!
-Eve
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