Quote of the day!

Cleopatra’s Nose

In 1669 the writings of the famous French mathematician, Blaise Pascal, were published posthumously.  Entitled Pensees (Thoughts), the work was basically a defense of the Christian religion but also included some random conclusions about the human condition and life in general.  One of those thoughts has always fascinated me.  Pascal remarked, “Cleopatra’s nose, had it been shorter, the whole face of the world would have been changed.”  

Ancient coin with Cleopatra's image

Had her nose been smaller, he felt, she would have lacked the dominance and strength of character which, in the physiognomy of her times (and the seventeenth century by the way), a large nose symbolized.  Without her impressive olfactory projection, the great men of Rome, Julius Caesar and Marc Antony, would not have fallen under her spell, great civil wars would not have been fought, and today we might be speaking Latin.  A stretch, maybe, but who knows.  History is linear, it goes from point A to point B, no one has figured out how to go in the other direction, yet.

Cleopatra VII Philopator

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Searched by Tejinder Kamboj