Author:Blaise Pascal,A. Krailsheimer,A. Krailsheimer
A passionate defence of religious faith by the great seventeenth-century philosopher, mathematician and physicist
Blaise Pascal was the precociously brilliant contemporary of Descartes, but it is his unfinished apologia for the Christian religion upon which his reputation now rests. The Pensées is a collection of philosophical fragments, notes and essays in which he explores the contradictions of human nature in psychological, social, metaphysical and, above all, theological terms. Humankind emerges from Pascal's analysis as a wretched and desolate creature within an impersonal universe, but also as a being whose existence can be transformed through faith in God's grace.
Translated with an Introduction by A. J. Krailsheimer
[Morrison's] prose has the diamond cut of a poet's eye, and his story is suffused with warmth and longing-he has brought [his mother] vividly to life in an outstanding work of family literature
—— IndependentHonest, funny and touching, this is a loving tribute from a son to his mother
—— Sunday MirrorMorrison constructs the book beautifully, as always... Fine writing and expert editing...with Morrison's usual virtues of unsentimental observation and expert storytelling
—— Sunday TimesA marvellous example of what a zen-like act of sustained attention can do to honour and illuminate the ordinary... It has a universality
—— Evening StandardA scintillating read... Not only a fine evocation of the period, but also a fascinating study of a marriage
—— GQ