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Pascal, Blaise

"The Provincial Letters"

Is this what you call acting sincerely and cordially?"
"But," said the good man, "what cause have you to complain,
since we deceive nobody by this mode of speaking? In our schools we
openly teach that we understand it in a manner different from the
Jesuits."
"What I complain of," returned my friend" "is, that you do not
proclaim it everywhere, that by sufficient grace you understand the
grace which is not sufficient. You are bound in conscience, by thus
altering the sense of the ordinary terms of theology, to tell that,
when you admit a sufficient grace in all men, you understand that they
have not sufficient grace in effect. All classes of persons in the
world understand the word sufficient in one and the same sense; the
New Thomists alone understand it in another sense. All the women,
who form one-half of the world, all courtiers, all military men, all
magistrates, all lawyers, merchants, artisans, the whole populace-
in short, all sorts of men, except the Dominicans, understand the word
sufficient to express all that is necessary. Scarcely any one is aware
of this singular exception. It is reported over the whole earth,
simply that the Dominicans hold that all men have the sufficient
graces. What other conclusion can be drawn from this, than that they
hold that all men have all the graces necessary for action; especially
when they are seen joined in interest and intrigue with the Jesuits,
who understand the thing in that sense? Is not the uniformity of
your expressions, viewed in connection with this union of party, a
manifest indication and confirmation of the uniformity of your
sentiments?
"The multitude of the faithful inquire of theologians: What is the
real condition of human nature since its corruption? St.


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