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Among the believers in the virtue of amulets must be counted the French religious philosopher, Pascal. After his death in 1662 there was found, sewed up in his pourpoint, a piece of paper bearing a long and very strange inscription. At the top was a cross with rays, a similar cross being drawn at the bottom of the text. This began with the following words:
Monday, November 23, the day of St. Clement, pope and martyr, and of others in the martyrology.
The Eve of St. Chrysogone, martyr, and of others. From about half-past ten in the evening until about a half-hour after midnight,
FIRE
Then follow a series of ejaculations and short religious sentences, and toward the end, after the name of Christ, thrice repeated, the words:
I have separated myself from Him, I have fled from Him, denied Him.
and finally the prayer that this separation might henceforth cease. The original text is said to be in the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris with the MS. of the "Pensees."
Pascal is stated to have always kept this amulet on his person, removing it carefully from the lining of an old garment and putting in a new one, when this was assumed. The strange introduction referred to a vision of fire which he had had on the night in question, and this has been explained as resulting from a severe nervous shock he had experienced six months before, when driving along the banks of the Seine. As the vehicle neared Neuilly the horses took fright and ran away, dashing toward the edge of the bank; just on the brink the reins broke and the horses plunged down into the river, leaving the carriage in which Pascal was sitting on the edge of the precipice. This shock impressed him so vividly that he would often see the precipice before him as distinctly as though it were a reality. In any case the matter is of interest as showing that one of the most gifted men of the seventeenth century was a believer in amulets. |
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Precious Stones Guide Vol 8
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