Les provinciales, ou lettres de Louis de Montalte

19th century edition of Blaise Pascal's series of philosophical essays. This work contains as a collection of eighteen letters, written during the controversy between the Jansenists and the Jesuits. Written between January 1656 and March 1657, they were first published to defend the Jansenist theologian Antoine Arnauld, threatened with condemnation by the Sorbonne, before turning to a criticism of the Jesuits. They were extremely popular for the use of humour, mockery and satire.