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The French seventeenth century philosopher, Blaise Pascal was also a mathematician, physicist and master of prose. A child prodigy, Pascal had numerous interests and an innovative, untiring mind, making a significant contribution to a range of fields and studies. He laid the foundation for the modern theory of probabilities, formulating what came to be known as Pascal's principle of pressure. He also propagated a religious doctrine that taught the experience of God through the heart rather than reason. An important mathematician, he went on to strongly influence the development of modern economics and social science. Pascal's most celebrated work is ‘Pensées'(Thoughts), a collection of fragments left unfinished at his early death. It is a treatise on spirituality, representing a defense of the Christian religion, introducing the famous concept of'Pascal's wager'. This comprehensive eBook presents Pascal's collected (almost complete) works, with numerous illustrations, rare texts, informative introductions and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 1) • Beautifully illustrated with images relating to Pascal's life and works• Concise introductions to the texts• All of the major works, with individual contents tables• Multiple translations of ‘Pensées'• Features rare treatises appearing for the first time in digital publishing, including George Pearce's seminal translations of uncollected ‘Thoughts'• Excellent formatting of the texts• Rare letters and fragments, available in no other recollection• Special criticism section, with four essays evaluating Pascal's contribution to philosophy• Features two biographies – discover Pascal's incredible life• Scholarly ordering of texts into chronological order and genres Please visit www.delphiclassics.com to browse through our range of exciting titles CONTENTS: The BooksEssay on Conics (1639) (Tr. Frances Marguerite Clarke)The Provincial Letters (1657) (Tr. Thomas M'Crie)On the Geometrical Spirit (1658) (Tr. Orlando Williams Wight)On the Art of Persuasion (1658) (Tr. Orlando Williams Wight)Thoughts (1670) (Tr. Charles K. Paul and William Finlayson Trotter)Thoughts on Eloquence and Style (Tr. George Pearce)Miscellaneous Thoughts (Tr. George Pearce)Thoughts on the Jesuits and the Jansenists (Tr. George Pearce)Thoughts and Notes for the Provincial Letters (Tr. George Pearce)On the Pope and the Church (Tr. George Pearce)Conversation on Religion (Tr. George Pearce)Letters and Minor Works (Tr. Mary L. Booth and Orlando Williams Wight) The CriticismPort Royal and the Jesuits: Blaise Pascal (1866)Pascal (1898) by Leslie StephenPascal (1900) by William Cleaver WilkinsonPascal (1916) by John Cowper Powys The BiographiesPascal (1878) by John TullochBlaise Pascal (1911) by George Chrystal Please visit www.delphiclassics.com to browse through our range of exciting titles or to purchase this eBook as a Parts Edition of individual eBooks

'I know of no religious writer more pertinent to our time.'— T. S. Eliot, Introduction to Pensées'Men despise religion. They hate it and are afraid it may be true,'declared Pascal in his Pensées.'The cure for this,'he explained,'is first to show that religion is not contrary to reason, but worthy of reverence and respect. Next make it attractive, make good men wish it were true, and then show that it is.'Motivated by the 17th-century view of the supremacy of human reason, Pascal (1623-62) had intended to write an ambitious apologia for Christianity, in which he argued the inability of reason to address metaphysical problems. His untimely death prevented his completion of the work, but the fragments published posthumously in 1670 form a vital part of religious and philosophical literature. Essential reading for students of history, philosophy, and theology, the Pensées remain among the liveliest and most eloquent defenses of Christianity ever written.

De formación matemática y científica, Blaise Pascal abandonó sus estudios para dedicarse a la filosofía y la teología después de una experiencia mística, en 1654. El'Discurso acerca de las pasiones del amor', ubicado poco antes de ese suceso, ya mostraba su búsqueda por razonar sobre las pasiones humanas:'El amor nos da más espíritu, el espíritu lo sustenta: hay que ser ágil para amar. Diariamente se nos agotan las maneras de gustar. Sin embargo, hay que gustar y lo logramos.'Los textos breves que acompañan al ensayo inicial,'Acerca de la conversión del pecador','Oración para pedirle a Dios el buen uso de las enfermedades'y'Tres discursos acerca de la condición de los grandes', permiten observar otras vetas del pensamiento surgido de la religiosidad del autor, fallecido prematuramente a los treinta y nueve años.