Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)

Born at Clermont-Ferrand, at age twelve he composed a treatise on the communication of sounds. At sixteen he produced another treatise, on conic sections. In 1639, he invented a calculator. He published works on the arithmetical triangle, on wagers and the theory of probabilities, and on the roulette or cycloid. Meanwhile, in 1646, he had been won over to Jansenism, a rigoristic type of Catholicism that stresses man’s sinfulness. After this he practiced the most severe asceticism, renounced learning, and became the constant guest of Port Royal, the center of Jansenism in France. His two masterpieces are the Provinciales and the Pensées. In the former he defended Jansenism and attacked the Jesuits for their more mild approach, which he considered moral laxity. As to their literary form, the Provinciales are the first prose masterpiece of French, in their satirical humour and passionate eloquence. The Pensées, a collection of his thoughts on subjects religious and otherwise, are an unfinished work.

(Adapted from the 1911 Catholic Encyclopedia)