David Propson

Jul 26, 2024 | wsj.com | David Propson

Blaise Pascal’s fragmentary notes veer from personal observation to systematic theology. Many of his aphorisms have become commonplace wisdom. Blaise Pascal really was a gambler—at least when he was young. His highly devout parents, according to Antoine Compagnon in his short book “A Summer With Pascal,” were a bit worried when their brilliant boy began to run with a crowd of dashing—and often godless—aristocratic libertines.