The first thing I did when I arrived in Zagreb was go to the bookstore through which I had ordered Pascal’s masterpiece in French. They called me a bit more than a week ago to tell me that the book had arrived, but that it got mangled in the post (“Mangled Thoughts,” April 2, 2014). The book is not in the best of shapes, indeed, but I got thirty-five percent off the price for this reason. In the end, it cost me a bit less than four pounds sterling, which is an amazing price for such a book. But the first thought of his that I came across when I opened the book at random delighted me at once:

Une seule pensée nous occupe. Nous ne pouvons penser à deux choses a la fois. Dont bien nous prend, selon le monde, non selon Dieu.[1]

Which is exactly what had happened to me. When I came out of the bus, the only thought that occupied me was Pascal’s book. From the bus station, I walked straight to the bookstore. I could not think of anything else as I crossed so many streets, squares, and parks. But I must add that my beloved is still in her office as I am leafing through the book. I will see her in a couple of hours. If she were free on my arrival, Pascal would not even cross my mind. As he put it so well, only one thought occupies us at any one time. We cannot think of two things at the same time. And no prize for guessing what I will be thinking about in a couple of hours.

Footnote

1. Pascal, Blaise, Pensées, ed. Philippe Sellier, Paris: Pocket, 2003, p. 349.