Blaise Pascal

Thank you.

A fine wine!

But yesterday's was drier.

The one the day before was even better.

Time flies!

The carriage is coming!

At last.

Before giving you the keys to this house,

it is my duty, sir, to verify who has sent you.

Sir, here is the royal decree assigning me this mandate.

"By God's grace and will, Louis, king of France and Navarre

hereby commands Etienne Pascal

to confer himself to Normandy

in the quality of Royal Intendant of tallage and taxation

and furthermore, delegates to him

all power and authority he deems necessary

to restore order

in our parishes in Normandy

left in disarray and abandon

by the negligence of our parliament in Rouen.

Signed at the Louvre on September 1 5, in the year of our Lord 1 639,

by the Grace of God and his Holy Virgin Mother,

King Louis."

The house is yours, and I have the honor, Royal Intendant,

to give you the keys.

Your chambers are upstairs, sir.

All seemed calm on the road to Rouen.

Because we've imprisoned all the rebels.

Now no one will refuse to pay taxes.

This is your office, Royal Intendant.

I see.

We've much work before sending a report to Chancellor Séguier.

Place the trunk over there.

That's fine. Thank you.

Where are the bedrooms?

Follow me, please.

Go open the window.

This room has no shutters.

The finest room in the house.

I'll show you the others.

"Moses was tending his flock on the mountain of God

and the Lord appeared to him as a flame of fire from the midst of a bush.

He saw the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed.

Then Moses said,

'I will see this great sight,

why the bush is not burnt."'

You sent for me, Father?

I did. My secretary...

was corrupted by a merchant of Rouen.

I fired him.

The tax register of Rouville parish must be brought up to date

and I need your help.

"Morneboeuf, miller on the land of the viscount of Rouen:

2,265 bushels of flour

and a house near the village on the road to Rouen.

Four sols per bushel of flour,

two ecus for the house,

and the obligation to buy 36 pounds of salt a year

at the price fixed by the Lisieux tax office.

Did not take part in the revolt."

Write:

Tallage will increase by one-fifteenth on the flour,

and by two-twelfths on the house.

The salt tax will remain the same.

Calculate the total.

But he didn't take part in the revolt!

Let the matter lie. Calculate.

For the coming year, Morneboeuf's tallage is 43 ecus and two sols.

Quickly calculated.

Are you sure you're not mistaken?

Yes, and I could be quicker.

Be careful.

What's this, Father?

- What? - This book.

Oh, that. Father Mersenne sent it.

He thought it'd interest me.

Read the title.

Rough Draft of Attaining the Outcome of Intersecting a Cone with a Plane.

It's by Mr. Desargues,

a Lyonnais geometrician,

a work so obscure that scholars call it the "Lesson on Darkness."

May I read it, Father?

You may, but you won't understand it.

Let's get back to work.

"Falaise, sharecropper on the land of the viscount of Rouen.

Four cows and a calf under his care, 15 acres of pasture.

Obligation to buy salt each year

at the price fixed by the Lisieux tax office."

Why is the water carrier here? Is the well dry?

No, but this morning I saw a toad

and feared some evil spell.

This is good water from the Bruel spring.

- Did you follow the ritual? - With two sticks, I made a cross.

Marie, have you seen Mr. Blaise?

He retired to his room and asked not to be disturbed.

- What about the mare? - In the stable and restless.

I think she'll give birth tonight.

Inform me, no matter the hour.

All the mare needs is peace and quiet.

The stable boys will take care of the rest.

Please leave.

I invite all of you to drink to this happy event with my wine.

It's from the Seine Valley.

Good night.

Still working?

She bore us a little mule.

You should go see it instead of tiring yourself.

Your calculations will never rival the beauty of God's creatures.

Aren't these also part of creation?

It's already daylight.

What are you doing?

I've gotten to the bottom of Mr. Desargues's work.

You know I disapprove.

You should take better care of yourself. Do you think it's good for your health

to work all night?

I thought you'd be pleased.

You know that, like you, I enjoy geometric calculations,

but you have too much zeal,

and curiosity,

and you're too good at it.

Don't let your successes infect you with delusions of grandeur.

Father, I know a man is truly great when he knows he is nothing.

Hold fast to that idea and you will prosper.

However, I'll take your work

to familiarize myself with it

so that we may discuss it together.

But from now on,

try to control your thirst for knowledge

for it may lead you into temptation.

Do you know the Minim convent in Paris?

Deliver this letter and this treatise to Father Mersenne.

Take this for your journey.

Take my best horse

and gain time by cutting across the fields.

Another thing: Tell no one of your trip,

especially Blaise.

Godspeed.

I've just received, from Etienne Pascal,

the Royal Intendant of the Rouen province,

a treatise by his son Blaise, age 1 7.

It is such a brilliant work

that I intend to publish it.

It's the solution

to the Rough Draft of Attaining the Outcome of Intersecting a Cone with a Plane,

the solution to the great Desargues's "Lesson on Darkness."

You wish to see me?

Yes, Royal Intendant.

It's about my injunction to pay tallage.

Which parish do you belong to?

Rouville, Royal Intendant.

Mouliné, master tanner.

You owe in excess of 53 ecus to the treasury,

and your payment is more than two months late.

Do not force me to confiscate your property.

Sadly, your collectors will find almost nothing.

I'm ruined.

Ruined?

How can this be?

The townspeople say my maid is a witch.

Because of this, no one will buy my tanned hides.

I'm ruined.

Is it a well-founded accusation?

I'm afraid so.

It's due to the evil spell cast on my son.

Have you informed the authorities?

Naturally.

The woman has been arrested,

but there are so many witch trials in our city

that she will not be tried for several months.

I'm ruined, Royal Intendant, and I can't pay you...

- unless... - I'm listening.

Unless she's speedily brought to trial

and I'm quickly released from this curse.

It's the only way to make my clients return.

I understand, sir.

I'll see what I can do.

Thank you.

Father is going to Rouen.

- Another trial? - For witchcraft.

They are trying Mr. Mouliné's maid.

After bewitching his son, they say she bewitched his shop.

Mr. Mouliné can't sell a single hide.

The devil can't enter a man's body unless he's been invoked.

On the contrary, he can, if the spell has sufficient power.

It's quite possible that Mr. Mouliné's maid invoked the devil

to ruin her master.

She had good reason to hate him, he always treated her harshly.

Doubtlessly, but it is an abominable crime

to call upon the powers of hell for revenge.

One needs proof that a Christian woman would commit such idolatry.

Her master's business is ruined, isn't it?

Due to people's credulity, perhaps.

I believe in hell's power,

but there are also illnesses that madden the mind and corrupt the senses.

I believe Satan roams the world

trying to possess the souls of every weak, defenseless person he meets.

The devil uses the melancholic humor to torment men.

But the melancholic humor alone, without Satan's help,

is capable of corrupting the soul.

In the merciless struggle against evil, our vigilance must never wane.