Критика воззрений Паскаля проходит через все творчество Вольтера — от Философских писем (1734) до Предисловия и Примечаний к изданию паскалевских Мыслей 1778 г., подготовленному Кондорсэ и вышедшему в свет незадолго до смерти самого Вольтера.

«Абстрагируюсь от янсенистского и от всякого иного теологического смысла* (лат.) — ср. с. 56 наст. т.

Cm. p. 271 present. T.

55

Fénelon François Salignac del Mot (1651–1715) was a French church leader and writer.

56

Massillon Jean Baptiste (1663–1742) was a prelate and preacher.

57

The point of view disputed by Brunetière was also held by the great French writer O. de Balzac: "The doctrines of Port-Royal, under the mask of exaggerated piety, under the cover of asceticism and piety, stubbornly opposed the principles of the Church and the monarchy. The gentlemen of Port-Royal, in spite of their religious attire, were the forerunners of the economists and encyclopedists of the time of Louis XV <. > everyone who <... > hid the spirit of the revolution under the words tolerance and non-resistance <... >Port-Royal was a revolt in the sphere of religious ideas <... > all the bishops, all the clergy, all the priests who rejected the Catholic Church, violated the oath, desecrated the episcopal throne — all of them were Jansenists" (quoted in Kleaus, pp. 122-123). Balzac's natural dislike of revolution forced him to be somewhat biased, and against this background, Brunstsr's position seems more preferable. After all, the direct enemies of Jansenism, the Jesuits, can also hardly be counted among the angels. The Jansenists should be accused of fanaticism, but not of hypocrisy, and their opposition to monarchy is difficult not to compare with the relationship between prophets and kings in the Bible. In any case, it is not necessary to write down as a Jansenist every scoundrel who lived in France at that time, since the "spirit of revolution" is a natural product of society, and not the result of the intrigues of some insidious forces.

58

In the same way, all the subsequent expositions of the contents belong to Nicalaus, who appended them to the tolerable Latin translation of the Letters of 1658 (All the page notes to the Provincials are ridiculous according to the 1898 edition — O. X.).