In his Pensees (Thoughts), Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) remarked upon the transitions in history:
Rivers are roads which move, and which carry us whither we desire to go.
When we do not know the truth of a thing, it is of advantage that there should exist a common error which determines the mind of man, as, for example, the moon, to which is attributed the change of seasons, the progress of diseases, etc. For the chief malady of man is restless
curiosity about things which he cannot understand; and it is not so bad for him to be in error as to be curious to no purpose.
