Pensées — Blaise Pascal

Pensées

Blaise Pascal · Licence: Public domain · Source

• Who has taught the evangelists the qualities of a perfectly heroic soul, that they paint it so perfectly in Jesus Christ? Why do they make Him weak in His agony? Do they not know how to paint a resolute death? Yes, for the same Saint Luke paints the death of Saint Stephen as braver than that of Jesus Christ. SECTION XII · ¶2559
• They make Him therefore capable of fear, before the necessity of dying has come, and then altogether brave. SECTION XII · ¶2560
• But when they make Him so troubled, it is when He afflicts Himself; and when men afflict Him, He is altogether strong. SECTION XII · ¶2561
• The apostles were either deceived or deceivers. Either supposition has difficulties; for it is not possible to mistake a man raised from the dead ... SECTION XII · ¶2565
• While Jesus Christ was with them, He could sustain them. But, after that, if He did not appear to them, who inspired them to act? SECTION XII · ¶2566
• _The beginning._--Miracles enable us to judge of doctrine, and doctrine enables us to judge of miracles. SECTION XIII · ¶2569
• Moses has given two rules: that the prediction does not come to pass (Deut. xviii), and that they do not lead to idolatry (Deut. xiii); and Jesus Christ[318] one. SECTION XIII · ¶2571
• If doctrine regulates miracles, miracles are useless for doctrine. SECTION XIII · ¶2572
• _Objection to the rule._--The distinction of the times. One rule during the time of Moses, another at present. SECTION XIII · ¶2574
• The two fundamentals; one inward, the other outward; grace and miracles; both supernatural. SECTION XIII · ¶2578
• Miracles and truth are necessary, because it is necessary to convince the entire man, in body and soul. SECTION XIII · ¶2580
• In all times, either men have spoken of the true God, or the true God has spoken to men. SECTION XIII · ¶2582
• Jesus Christ has verified that He was the Messiah, never in verifying His doctrine by Scripture and the prophecies, but always by His miracles. SECTION XIII · ¶2584
• He proves by a miracle that He remits sins. SECTION XIII · ¶2585
• Rejoice not in your miracles, said Jesus Christ, but because your names are written in heaven.[319] SECTION XIII · ¶2586
• If they believe not Moses, neither will they believe one risen from the dead. SECTION XIII · ¶2587
• Nicodemus recognises by His miracles that His teaching is of God. _Scimus quia venisti a Deo magister; nemo enim potest hæc signa facere quæ tu facis nisi Deus fuerit cum eo._[320] He does not judge of the miracles by the teaching, but of the teaching by the miracles. SECTION XIII · ¶2588
• The Jews had a doctrine of God as we have one of Jesus Christ, and confirmed by miracles. They were forbidden to believe every worker of miracles; and they were further commanded to have recourse to the chief priests, and to rely on them. SECTION XIII · ¶2589
• And thus, in regard to their prophets, they had all those reasons which we have for refusing to believe the workers of miracles. SECTION XIII · ¶2590
• And yet they were very sinful in rejecting the prophets, and Jesus Christ, because of their miracles; and they would not have been culpable, if they had not seen the miracles. _Nisi fecissem ... peccatum non haberent._[321] Therefore all belief rests upon miracles. SECTION XIII · ¶2591
• Prophecy is not called miracle; as Saint John speaks of the first miracle in Cana, and then of what Jesus Christ says to the woman of Samaria, when He reveals to her all her hidden life. Then He heals the centurion's son; and Saint John calls this "the second miracle."[322] SECTION XIII · ¶2592
• The second miracle can suppose the first, but the first cannot suppose the second. SECTION XIII · ¶2596
• Had it not been for the miracles, there would have been no sin in not believing in Jesus Christ. SECTION XIII · ¶2598
• I should not be a Christian, but for the miracles, said Saint Augustine. SECTION XIII · ¶2600
• _Miracles._--How I hate those who make men doubt of miracles! Montaigne[323] speaks of them as he should in two places. In one, we see how careful he is; and yet, in the other, he believes, and makes sport of unbelievers. SECTION XIII · ¶2602
• However it may be, the Church is without proofs if they are right. SECTION XIII · ¶2603
• It is not possible to have a reasonable belief against miracles. SECTION XIII · ¶2608
• Unbelievers the most credulous. They believe the miracles of Vespasian, in order not to believe those of Moses. SECTION XIII · ¶2610
• Jeremiah xxiii, 32. The _miracles_ of the false prophets. In the Hebrew and Vatable[324] they are the _tricks_. SECTION XIII · ¶2617
• Abraham and Gideon are above revelation. The Jews blinded themselves in judging of miracles by the Scripture. God has never abandoned His true worshippers. SECTION XIII · ¶2624
• I prefer to follow Jesus Christ than any other, because He has miracle, prophecy, doctrine, perpetuity, etc. SECTION XIII · ¶2625
• The Donatists. No miracle which obliges them to say it is the devil. SECTION XIII · ¶2626
• The more we particularise God, Jesus Christ, the Church ... SECTION XIII · ¶2627
• If there were no false miracles, there would be certainty. If there were no rule to judge of them, miracles would be useless, and there would be no reason for believing. SECTION XIII · ¶2629
• Now there is, humanly speaking, no human certainty, but we have reason. SECTION XIII · ¶2630
• Either God has confounded the false miracles, or He has foretold them; and in both ways He has raised Himself above what is supernatural with respect to us, and has raised us to it. SECTION XIII · ¶2632
• Miracles serve not to convert, but to condemn. (Q. 113, A. 10, _Ad._ 2.)[327] SECTION XIII · ¶2634
• _Reasons why we do not believe._ SECTION XIII · ¶2636
• John xii, 37. _Cum autem tanta signa fecisset, non credebant in eum, ut sermo Isayæ impleretur. Excæcavit_, etc. SECTION XIII · ¶2637
• _Hæc dixit Isaias, quando vidit gloriam ejus et locutus est de eo._ SECTION XIII · ¶2638

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