Letters and Other Minor Works

An important historical figure to this day, Blaise Pascal was born in Clermont-Ferrand, France in 1623. A very bright child, Pascal was homeschooled by his father and later moved to Paris. Though his family was religious, involved in Jansenism, Pascal was much more interested in science and mathematics. By seventeen, he had completed a geometric treatise, and by nineteen he invented the mechanical calculator. However, by 1654, Pascal abandoned his scientific endeavors and lived out the rest of his life devoted to philosophy and theology. The contents of this edition include: "Prayer, to Ask of God the Proper Use of Sickness," "Comparison Between Christianity of Early Times and Those of To-day," "Discourses on the Condition of the Great," "On the Conversion of the Sinner," "Conversation of Pascal with M. de Saci on Epictetus and Montaigne," "The Art of Persuasion," "Discourse on the Passion of Love," "Of the Geometrical Spirit, Preface to the Treatise on Vacuum," "New Fragment of the Treatise on Vacuum" and a collection of letters.