Pensées

Although unfinished and only posthumously published, the Pensées have proven to be Blaise Pascal’s greatest legacy. In this series of rich philosophical fragments—originally intended as notes for a larger work he died before completing—the renowned mathematician offers a penetrating existential analysis of the human condition. Pascal explores themes such as faith and reason, sin and redemption, wretchedness and greatness, boredom and activity, the head and the heart, and the famous “wager” for God’s existence.

Equal parts enlightening and puzzling, the Pensées ultimately paint a picture of humanity’s restless search for happiness in temporal goods—and the final realization of that happiness only in the infinite God. Pascal’s candid presentation of these enduring truths makes his masterpiece a timeless classic.