Folio Society Published Works Number 2432
Pascal, Blaise - Pensees
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Pascal, Blaise - Pensees (Published in by The Folio Society in 2011. Translated by A. J. Krailsheimer. Introduced by T. S. Eliot. Bound in buckram. Set in Janson. 424 pages. Frontispiece. 16 pages of colour plates. Book Size: 9 x 6 1/4. Blaise Pascal (1623–62) was a mathematician and physicist who invented the mechanical calculator and developed probability theory. After experiencing a crisis and renewal of faith, he set out to write what he titled a 'Defence of the Christian Religion'. He did not live to complete it, but after his death, his followers published the collection of fragments and essays he had left in preparation. This series of reflections – pensées – on subjects as varied as reason, infinity, boredom and human nature, lead Pascal to the same conclusions: that reason alone cannot explain our existence, and that man needs God in order to be happy. Pascal is equally celebrated for his simple, original prose style and for his profound conclusions that have influenced generations of thinkers and writers from Kierkegaard to Samuel Beckett. The only illustrated edition of Pensées in print, this volume contains a magnificent range of paintings by Pascal's contemporary, Philippe de Champaigne, who became a follower of the Jansenist creed espoused by Pascal after his daughter was cured at the Abbey of Port-Royal, the same place that inspired Pascal's renewal of faith. The introduction, by T. S. Eliot, is a brilliant analysis of Pascal's thought and influence. )
