Jean Steinmann, Pascal

An interesting parallel could be drawn between the night of Pascal and that of Descartes. In his Olympica Descartes wrote the following sentence which is reported by his biographer, Adrien Baillet: “[10th November 1619] Cum plenus forem enthousiasmo et mirabilis scientiae fundamenta reperirem….” And Baillet goes on to describe in detail three dreams which Descartes had on the night of the Feast of St Martin. He felt himself driven by the wind against the wall of a church, heard a clap of thunder “and opening his eyes, he saw many sparks flying all over the room”. Lastly, in a third dream, he found himself reading an anthology of poetry:

This last dream, in which there was nothing that was not gentle and agreeable,
pointed to his own future….But he took the two earlier dreams for warnings
related to his past life, which might not have been so innocent in the sight of
God as in the eyes of men. The impression which remained with him of these
disturbances led him on the following day to reflect on the path he was to
follow. In his perplexity, he turned to God and besought him to make his will
known to him, to enlighten him and guide him in his search for truth.

(Adam-Tannery, Oeuvres de Descartes, vol. X, pp.182-6)

How clearly we perceive in this account all the resemblances and all the differences between Pascal and Descartes, between the two great geniuses who were at once so close and so far from one another.

They were both Christians, both enlightened by God in the course of a November night, but with a light which has neither the same origin nor illumines the same truths. Descartes dreamt; Pascal was awake. When he woke Descartes reflected, while Pascal, who had not slept, read the Bible. If Descartes felt remorse it was before God, whereas Pascal was conscious of having denied and crucified Jesus Christ. Descartes was seeking truth and wanted to discover it on his own. Pascal possessed truth; it was enough for him to remain faithful to it. Descartes left on one side the dogmas of faith; Pascal flung himself into them completely. The two Catholics were separated by the Bible and the Mediator.

--Jean Steinmann, Pascal (Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., New York: 1966), 84-85.