Pascal

It was Pascal who said, "Whoever would fully measure the vanity of human life must consider the causes and the effects of the passion of love. If the nose of Cleopatra had been shorter, the whole face of the earth-would have been different."

Blaise Pascal was one of the most distinguished philosophers and scholars of the seventeenth century. He was born in Auvergne, France, in 1623; died in Paris, 1662. He was a noted "Port-Royalist."

These were a body of learned men, theologians, connected with the convent of Post-Royal des Champs, near Versailles, who played an important part in the Jansenist controversy.

This long controversy in the Roman-Catholic Church was chiefly respecting the doctrine of "free grace." Jansen of Louvain (about 1630) propagated views on the subject contrary to those held by the Jesuits: hence the controversy is known by his name, which caused much excitement in France and other Continental countries. The Post-Royalists were suppressed in 1709, in the reign of Louis XIV., this measure being instigated by Madame de Maintenon.

Pascal's chief works, "Pensees" and "Lettres Provinciales," are among the finest specimens of French literature.