Descartes: A Biography

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 Descartes: A Biography

Thus, when he was later appointed to posts at Deventer and Utrecht,

Descartes followed him to both towns. Reneri had been registered as a stu-

dent of medicine at Leiden since Octoberand was now in the process

of looking for a suitable academic appointment there. While waiting for a

decision on the vacancy at Leiden in,Reneri accepted a post as tutor

to a family with three children in Leiden in January, and Descartes

joined him there. Leiden University, at that time, included among its pro-

fessors an impressive list of scholars: AndreR ́ ivet in theology, Adolphus

Vo rstius in medicine, Frans van Schooten in mathematics, Jacobus Golius

in oriental languages and mathematics, and Gerard Vossius in rhetoric

and history. Descartes may also have thought that he could make progress

onsome of the numerous research projects on which he was working by

discussing them with such outstanding scholars. Whatever the reason for

the change, he moved to Leiden and seems to have met Mersenne there

when he visited Holland during the summer.

After a relatively short interlude at Leiden, Descartes returned to Am-

sterdam and to the major project on which he had begun work. The themes

that later appear inThe Worldcrop up frequently in correspondence. He

proposes a general explanation of properties, in contrast with scholastic

theories, which is later found in the first chapter ofThe World,along

with an explanation of gravity and another of how to derive light from the

chaos.One of the surprising features of his letters, during this period, is

the extent to which he refuses to discuss mathematical problems because

they take so much time to resolve and distract him from his main work.

With that one exception, however, there is hardly any issue in the whole

of natural philosophy, from anatomy to music, that escapes his attention.

The continued expansion in the scope of the project is reflected in further

delays in its projected completion and in the single-minded dedication

with which Descartes is beginning to focus all his intellectual efforts on

this one interrelated network of problems.

I wish to add to it a discourse where I attempt to explain the nature of colours and of

light, something that has held me up for the past six months and is not yet half finished;

butitwill also be longer than I expected and will contain almost a whole physics. Thus

I hope to use it to fulfill the promise that I made to you, to have completed myWorld

in three years, for this will be almost a summary of it. I do not think that, once this is

finished, I will ever again decide to publish anything else, at least during my life. For

I like the fable of myWorldtoo much not to finish it, if God allows me to live long

enough to do so. (i.)