"Imagine a number of chained individuals, all condemned to death. Each day, a few are executed before the eyes of the others. The survivors witness what happens to their fellow prisoners, knowing that the same fate awaits them. With sorrow and despair in their eyes, they gaze at one another, waiting for their turn. This is the image of the human condition."

"I have often said that the only reason people do not fall into despair is because they distract themselves. Distraction is the only thing that protects us from this despair. We are surrounded by it, but we do not think about it. It is the best of all possible worlds to help us not to think about it."

Blaise Pascal, from "Pensées."