Part 1

TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE

Italic text is denoted by underscores. One superscript was converted to lowercase '23rd'.

Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within the text and consultation of external sources.

More detail can be found at the end of the book.

THE THOUGHTS OF BLAISE PASCAL.

_THE THOUGHTS

BLAISE PASCAL_

_THE THOUGHTS OF

BLAISE PASCAL_

_TRANSLATED FROM THE TEXT OF

M. AUGUSTE MOLINIER_

_BY

C. KEGAN PAUL_

Pendent opera interrupta

LONDON

KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH & CO.

MDCCCLXXXV

CONTENTS.

PAGE

PREFACE vii

GENERAL INTRODUCTION 1 Pascal's Profession of Faith 2 General Introduction 3 Notes for the General Introduction 11

THE MISERY OF MAN WITHOUT GOD 15 Preface to the First Part 17 Man's Disproportion 19 Diversion 33 The Greatness and Littleness of Man 43 Of the Deceptive Powers of the Imagination 51 Of Justice, Customs, and Prejudices 61 The Weakness, Unrest, and Defects of Man 73

THE HAPPINESS OF MAN WITH GOD 89 Preface to the Second Part 91 Of the Need of Seeking Truth 95 The Philosophers 105 Thoughts on Mahomet and on China 115 Of the Jewish People 119 The Authenticity of the Sacred Books 125 The Prophecies 131 Of Types in General and of their Lawfulness 157 That the Jewish Law was Figurative 167 Of the True Religion and its Characteristics 179 The Excellence of the Christian Religion 183 Of Original Sin 191 The Perpetuity of the Christian Religion 197 Proofs of the Christian Religion 203 Proofs of the Divinity of Jesus Christ 213 The Mission and Greatness of Jesus Christ 225 The Mystery of Jesus 231 Of the True Righteous Man and of the True Christian 237 The Arrangement 253 Of Miracles in General 257 Jesuits and Jansenists 273 Thoughts on Style 301 Various Thoughts 307

NOTES 317

INDEX 339

PREFACE.

Those to whom the Life of Pascal and the Story of Port Royal are unknown, must be referred to works treating fully of the subject, since it were impossible to deal with them adequately within the limits of a preface. Sainte-Beuve's great work on Port Royal, especially the second and third volumes, and "Port Royal," by Charles Beard, B.A., London, 1863, may best be consulted by any who require full, lucid, and singularly impartial information.

But for such as, already acquainted with the time and the man, need a recapitulation of the more important facts, or for those who may find an outline map useful of the country they are to study in detail, a few words are here given.