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BLAISE.TXT
BLAISE
PASCAL, REASONS OF THE HEART, by Marvin R. O'Connell. Grand Rapids, Michigan:
William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997. 202 pages, index. Softcover;
$16.00.
Written
from the viewpoint of a Catholic theologian, this Pascal biography spends
little time on his philosophical and scientific accomplishments, focusing
instead on the factors which led him into his fervent Christian convictions.
When Pascal's sister, Jacqueline, wrote of him in 1647, that he was "no
longer a mathematician," she meant by this that while Pascal might still
pursue the sciences, those pursuits no longer defined him; he now belonged to
Jesus Christ, and in Him found his primary identification. Seven years later,
on November 23-24, 1654, Pascal experienced a second conversion, a "night
of FIRE," and much of this excellent book centers around that experience,
particularly Pascal's written testimony to it, two copies of which were found
inside his jacket when he died, eighteen years later.
Lives
of great men (and women) remind us of goals we should set, and lives we ought
to live. Pascal's life is so remarkable and uplifting that it is difficult to
think of any other person within the last 500 years with whom to compare him.
This biography looks at his life from a narrow view -- yet a view which Pascal,
himself, would certainly say was primary.
One of
the most challenging of all Pascal's PENSEES was "le pari," the
WAGER, elements of which appear throughout his work. Many scholars, William
James among them, have criticized this discourse. But, in the words of
O'Connell (page 188), "Pascal's retort was that the wager embodied a moral
decision, not an intellectual demonstration or even an argument." PENSEES
numbers 418 and 835 expand on this point.
Blaise
Pascal wrote a testimony on that pivotal night in 1654; he later recopied it on
parchment, and carried both copies with him to the day of his death. O'Connell
writes, "The paper text -- written hurriedly, smudged, crowded with
excisions and insertions, scarcely legible in places -- was composed first,
composed indeed at the very moment of illumination . . . the words tumbled
forth with a fiery intensity." Part of these words follow:
The
year of grace 1654.
Monday,
23 November, . . .
From
about half-past ten in the evening
until about half past midnight.
FIRE.
The God
of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.
Not of
the philosophers and intellectuals.
Certitude,
certitude, feeling, joy, peace . . .
joy,
joy, joy, tears of joy, . . .
O'Connell's
book has the full text. Powerful stuff. I recommend the book highly. When you
purchase a copy, you will, I believe, make it a "keeper" in your
personal library.
John W.
Burgeson
Imago
Dei
Durango,
Colorado
Burgy@www.burgy.50megs.com
Published
in PERSPECTIVES, the quarterly journal of the American Scientific Affiliation (ASA).
Volume 50, #1, March 1998.
ASA's
web site is
www.ASA3.ORG
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