3 of 15 in Section X TYPOLOGY344 of 448 in work
Our Two Natures
Blaise Pascal
Pensees

The author explores the dual nature of man, where a 'second nature' of lust competes with an internal kingdom of God. He suggests that God is found precisely where the individual self is absent.

...nother deliverer, etc. They say that they will be understood only in the fullness of time (Jer. xxx, ult.). The third proof is that their discourses are contradictory, and neutralise each other; so that if we think that they did not mean by the words "law" and "sacrifice" anything else than that of Moses, there is a plain and gross contradiction. Therefore they meant something else, sometimes contradicting themselves in the same chapter. Now, to understand the meaning of an author ... 659
Lust has become natural to us, and has made our second nature. Thus there are two natures in us--the one good, the other bad. Where is God? Where you are not, and the kingdom of God is within you.
The Rabbis. 660 Penitence, alone of all these mysteries, has been manifestly declared to the Jews, and by Saint John, the Forerunner; and then the other mysteries; to indicate that in each man, as in the entire world, this order must be observed. 661 The carnal Jews understood neither the greatness nor the humiliation of the Messiah foretold in their prophecies. They misunderstood Him in His foretold greatness, as when He said that the Messiah should be lord of David, though his son, and...
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4 of 15 in Section X TYPOLOGY345 of 448 in work
Misreading Prophecy
Blaise Pascal
Pensees

Pascal argues that the Jews failed to recognize the Messiah because they were blinded by a desire for carnal, earthly greatness rather than spiritual and eternal truth.

...nderstand the meaning of an author ... 659 Lust has become natural to us, and has made our second nature. Thus there are two natures in us--the one good, the other bad. Where is God? Where you are not, and the kingdom of God is within you. The Rabbis. 660 Penitence, alone of all these mysteries, has been manifestly declared to the Jews, and by Saint John, the Forerunner; and then the other mysteries; to indicate that in each man, as in the entire world, this order must be observed. 661
The carnal Jews understood neither the greatness nor the humiliation of the Messiah foretold in their prophecies. They misunderstood Him in His foretold greatness, as when He said that the Messiah should be lord of David, though his son, and that He was before Abraham, who had seen Him. They did not believe Him so great as to be eternal, and they likewise misunderstood Him in His humiliation and in His death. "The Messiah," said they, "abideth for ever, and this man says that he shall die." Therefore they believed Him neither mortal nor eternal; they only sought in Him for a carnal greatness.
662 Typical.--Nothing is so like charity as covetousness, and nothing is so opposed to it. Thus the Jews, full of possessions which flattered their covetousness, were very like Christians, and very contrary. And by this means they had the two qualities which it was necessary they should have, to be very like the Messiah to typify Him, and very contrary not to be suspected witnesses. 663 Typical.--God made use of the lust of the Jews to make them minister to Jesus Christ, [who brought...
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5 of 15 in Section X TYPOLOGY346 of 448 in work
Charity as Reality
Blaise Pascal
Pensees

Pascal emphasizes that charity is a literal and essential reality rather than a symbolic precept, warning that losing the reality of love renders all religious light as darkness.

...ike charity as covetousness, and nothing is so opposed to it. Thus the Jews, full of possessions which flattered their covetousness, were very like Christians, and very contrary. And by this means they had the two qualities which it was necessary they should have, to be very like the Messiah to typify Him, and very contrary not to be suspected witnesses. 663 Typical.--God made use of the lust of the Jews to make them minister to Jesus Christ, [who brought the remedy for their lust]. 664
Charity is not a figurative precept. It is dreadful to say that Jesus Christ, who came to take away types in order to establish the truth, came only to establish the type of charity, in order to take away the existing reality which was there before. "If the light be darkness, how great is that darkness!"
[241] 665 Fascination. Somnum suum.[242] Figura hujus mundi.[243] The Eucharist. Comedes panem tuum.[244] Panem nostrum. Inimici Dei terram lingent.[245] Sinners lick the dust, that is to say, love earthly pleasures. The Old Testament contained the types of future joy, and the New contains the means of arriving at it. The types were of joy; the means of penitence; and nevertheless the Paschal Lamb was eaten with bitter herbs, cum amaritudinibus.[246] _Singularis sum ego donec t...
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6 of 15 in Section X TYPOLOGY347 of 448 in work
Union Through Christ
Blaise Pascal
Pensees

The author argues that true virtue and mercy are only possible through union with Jesus Christ, as human will is inherently flawed. He advocates for a total shift in moral judgment, where the will of God replaces personal desire as the sole standard for what is good.

...rram lingent.[245] Sinners lick the dust, that is to say, love earthly pleasures. The Old Testament contained the types of future joy, and the New contains the means of arriving at it. The types were of joy; the means of penitence; and nevertheless the Paschal Lamb was eaten with bitter herbs, _cum amaritudinibus.[246] Singularis sum ego donec transeam.[247]--Jesus Christ before His death was almost the only martyr. 666 Typical.--The expressions, sword, shield. Potentissime. 667
We are estranged, only by departing from charity. Our prayers and our virtues are abominable before God, if they are not the prayers and the virtues of Jesus Christ. And our sins will never be the object of [mercy], but of the justice of God, if they are not [those of] Jesus Christ. He has adopted our sins, and has [admitted] us into union [with Him], for virtues are [His own, and] sins are foreign to Him; while virtues [are] foreign to us, and our sins are our own. Let us change the rule which we have hitherto chosen for judging what is good. We had our own will as our rule. Let us now take the will of [God]; all that He wills…
Sins are forbidden by the general declaration that God has made, that He did not allow them. Other things which He has left without general prohibition, and which for that reason are said to be permitted, are nevertheless not always permitted. For when God removed some one of them from us, and when, by the event, which is a manifestation of the will of God, it appears that God does not will that we should have a thing, that is then forbidden to us as sin; since the will of God is that we should...
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7 of 15 in Section X TYPOLOGY348 of 448 in work
Messiah's Unexpected Arrival
Blaise Pascal
Pensees

The author reflects on the transition from the carnal expectations of the Jewish people to the spiritual reality of Jesus Christ, who arrived without the worldly glory many anticipated.

...us as sin; since the will of God is that we should not have one more than another. There is this sole difference between these two things, that it is certain that God will never allow sin, while it is not certain that He will never allow the other. But so long as God does not permit it, we ought to regard it as sin; so long as the absence of God's will, which alone is all goodness and all justice, renders it unjust and wrong. 668 To change the type, because of our weakness. 669 Types.--
The Jews had grown old in these earthly thoughts, that God loved their father Abraham, his flesh and what sprung from it; that on account of this He had multiplied them, and distinguished them from all other nations, without allowing them to intermingle; that when they were languishing in Egypt, He brought them out with all these great signs in their favour; that He fed them with manna in the desert, and led them into a very rich land; that He gave them kings and a well-built temple, in order to offer up beasts before Him, by the shedding of whose blood they should be purified; and that at last He was to send them the Messiah to make them…
After His death, Saint Paul[248] came to teach men that all these things had happened in allegory; that the kingdom of God did not consist in the flesh, but in the spirit; that the enemies of men were not the Babylonians, but the passions; that God delighted not in temples made with hands, but in a pure and contrite heart; that the circumcision of the body was unprofitable, but that of the heart was needed; that Moses had not given them the bread from heaven, etc.[249] But God, not having desi...
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