Signed book: Pensees - The Provincial Letters. NY: Modern Library, 1941. Hardcover, 5 x 7.25, 618 pages. On the title page, Kerouac has written "Pascal is not Neitzsche's 'broken Christian'—he is the Immortal Mathematician. JK". Pascal was a mathematician who became a religious philosopher. On one page, the sentence "What shall we conclude from all our darkness, but our unworthiness?" is circled, and asterisked. At the bottom of the page is written "Check on your past, all of it" in Kerouac's hand. On another page, there are three lines of text underlined, with an asterisk, and the notation "Thus the vicious Judas-worship of Kazgatzakis." Another circled segment of text reads: "If the Jews had all been converted by Jesus Christ, we should have none but questionable witnesses. And if they had been entirely destroyed, we should have no witnesses at all." There is a page in which "What makes us not believe in the true miracles, is want of love" is underlined and arrowed, with this notation "Dostoevsky's 'Hell is the inability to love' (or to believe in miracles)". The following is a heavily annotated paragraph, with Kerouac's comments bracketed: "Jesus Christ came to blind those who saw clearly [legal thieves] and to give sight to the blind; to heal the sick, and leave the healthy [those of self-interest] to die; to call to repentance, and to justify sinners, and to leave the righteous [hypocrites] in their sins; to fill the needy, and leave the rich [the ostentatious wastrels] empty." On the back cover leaf is written: "What would you have done if there had been no Christ?" in Kerouac's hand. There are many other notations, at least eight of them, with over 100 lines of text underlined, five assorted pages bracketed in the margin, and over 25 places where the text has been "x"d. In very good condition, with some light page toning and cover wear, another ownership signature to inside cover, and soiling to the weak but intact spine. COA John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and R&R COA.
