The provincial letters of Blaise Pascal : $b A new translation, with historical introduction and notes, by the Rev. Thomas M'CriePascal, Blaise
Religion
The provincial letters of Blaise Pascal : $b A new translation, with historical introduction and notes, by the Rev. Thomas M'Crie
Pascal, Blaise
Jansenists -- France -- Early works to 1800; Jesuits -- Early works to 1800; Port-Royal des Champs (Abbey) -- Early works to 1800
Such, fathers, is the mysterious and divine reason of this most divine
mystery. This it is that fills us with abhorrence at the Calvinists, who
would reduce us to the condition of the Jews; and this it is that makes
us aspire to the glory of the beatified, where we shall be introduced to
the full and eternal enjoyment of Jesus Christ. From hence you must see
that there are several points of difference between the manner in which
he communicates himself to Christians and to the blessed; and that,
amongst others, he is in this world received by the mouth, and not so in
heaven; but that they all depend solely on the distinction between our
state of faith and their state of immediate vision. And this is
precisely, fathers, what M. Arnauld has expressed, with great plainness,
in the following terms: “There can be no other difference between the
purity of those who receive Jesus Christ in the eucharist and that of
the blessed, than what exists between faith and the open vision of God,
upon which alone depends the different manner in which he is eaten upon
earth and in heaven.” You were bound in duty, fathers, to have revered
in these words the sacred truths they express, instead of wresting them
for the purpose of detecting an heretical meaning which they never
contained, nor could possibly contain, namely, that Jesus Christ is
eaten by faith only, and not by the mouth; the malicious perversion of
your Fathers Annat and Meynier, which forms the capital count of their
indictment.
Conscious, however, of the wretched deficiency of your proofs, you have
had recourse to a new artifice, which is nothing less than to falsify
the Council of Trent, in order to convict M. Arnauld of nonconformity
with it; so vast is your store of methods for making people heretics.
This feat has been achieved by Father Meynier, in fifty different places
of his book, and about eight or ten times in the space of a single page
(the 54th), wherein he insists that to speak like a true Catholic, it is
not enough to say, “I believe that Jesus Christ is really present in the
eucharist,” but we must say, “I believe, _with the council_, that he is
present by a true _local presence_, or locally.” And in proof of this,
he cites the council, session xiii., canon 3d, canon 4th, and canon 6th.
Who would not suppose, upon seeing the term _local presence_ quoted from
three canons of a universal council, that the phrase was actually to be
found in them? This might have served your turn very well, before the
appearance of my fifteenth letter; but as matters now stand, fathers,
the trick has become too stale for us. We go our way and consult the
council, and discover only that you are falsifiers. Such terms as _local
presence_, _locally_, and _locality_, never existed in the passages to
which you refer; and let me tell you further, they are not to be found
in any other canon of that council, nor in any other previous council,
nor in any father of the Church.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account