Pensees: The Universal Library

For much of his life the French mathematician and physicist, Blaise Pascal worked on a series of notes in preparation for a reasoned defence of Christian thought. This was never published in its intended form. Instead, he left a mass of fragments, which became known as the Pensees, literally 'thoughts'. Some of the Penseesare fully developed literary reflections on the human condition, some contradict others, and some remain ambiguous and oblique jottings. However, Pascal's intention to confound scepticism regarding metaphysical questions of belief is clear: Pensees is one of the liveliest and most eloquent discussions of why religion is the corollary of reason.