Notes
[A] Cf. the use of the simile of the couvreur. For comparing parallel passages, the edition of the Pensées by Henri Massis (A la cité des livres) is better than the two-volume edition of Jacques Chevalier (Gabalda). It seems just possible that in the latter edition, and also in his biographical study (Pascal; by Jacques Chevalier, English translation, published by Sheed & Ward), M. Chevalier is a little over-zealous to demonstrate the perfect orthodoxy of Pascal.
[B] The great man of Port-Royal was of course Saint-Cyran, but any one who is interested will certainly consult, first of all, the book of Sainte-Beuve mentioned.
[C] For a brilliant criticism of the errors of Descartes from a theological point of view the reader is referred to Three Reformers by Jacques Maritain (translation published by Sheed & Ward).
[D] An important modern theory of discontinuity, suggested partly by Pascal, is sketched in the collected fragments of Speculations by T. E. Hulme (Kegan Paul).
CONTENTS
Page
[Introduction] By T. S. Eliotvii
section
I. [Thoughts On Mind And On Style]1
II. [The Misery Of Man Without God]14
III. [Of The Necessity Of The Wager]52
IV. [Of The Means Of Belief]71
V. [Justice And The Reason Of Effects]83
VI. [The Philosophers]96
VII. [Morality And Doctrine]113
VIII. [The Fundamentals Of The Christian Religion]152
IX. [Perpetuity]163
X. [Typology]181
XI. [The Prophecies]198
XII. [Proofs Of Jesus Christ]222
XIII. [The Miracles]238
XIV. [Appendix: Polemical Fragments]257
[Notes]273
[Index]289
NOTE
Passages erased by Pascal are enclosed in square brackets, thus []. Words, added or corrected by the editor of the text, are similarly denoted, but are in italics.
It has been seen fit to transfer Fragment 514 of the French edition to the Notes. All subsequent Fragments have accordingly been renumbered.