Douceur de la grâce, terreur de l’apologétique Pascal au tribunal de Valéry

Valéry saw nothing but ‘arms, poisons, and ­drugs’ in ­Pascal’s Pensées. This judgement illuminates a violence in the Pensées which, once noticed, ­continues to make its presence felt. If faith is a grace of God, as Pascal suggests, how can we make sense of its apologetic approach and the violence which characterises it ?