"The greatness of man is great in that he knows himself to be wretched. A tree does not know itself to be wretched"

This quote by Blaise Pascal speaks with the unique nature of mankind. He is suggesting that the achievement of guy lies in his capability to recognize his own wretchedness. This is in contrast to a tree, which does not have the same level of self-awareness. Pascal is indicating that it is this self-awareness that sets people apart from other animals. It is this understanding of our own imperfections that permits us to pursue enhancement and development. This quote is a suggestion that we ought to not take our own humankind for approved, but rather use it to our benefit. We ought to utilize our self-awareness to strive for success, and to acknowledge our own weaknesses so that we can work to overcome them.