Descartes: A Biography

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Metaphysics in a Hornet’s Nest (–) 

The reason given was that the French privilege would not prevent pirate

editions from appearing in the United Provinces; if there were to be other

editions, he might as well take advantage of the circumstances to make

corrections.

Since the first edition had been published only in late August,, and

Descartes mentions that a second edition is already being printed as early

asNovember, one must assume that he was extremely disappointed with

the Paris edition. He had made a number of compromises in that edition in

the interest of getting the Sorbonne’s approval. When that strategy failed

and the threat of a Jesuit critique continued, Descartes decided to amend

the second edition in two ways. He omitted from the cover page any men-

tion of an approval and restored the missing paragraphs about Eucharistic

theology in the Replies to Arnauld. The amended text was printed for

Elzeviers in Leiden, by working from corrected page proofs of the Paris

edition, and it was completed as expected by January.Meantime,

Bourdin’s objections finally arrived in January, and this precipitated fur-

ther amendments. Descartes added the objections from Bourdin, together

with his own interpolated replies, and, as a final Appendix, he included

the open letter to Father Dinet. Since these appendices were printed as

a second volume in Amsterdam, Elzevier had to send a messenger with

page proofs to Endegeest, where he would await Descartes’ corrections.

The second edition appeared with a modified subtitle as: ‘Meditations

of Ren ́e Descartes concerning First Philosophy, in which the existence of God

and the distinction of the human soul from the body are demonstrated. In

addition, various objections of learned men to the demonstrations about God

and the soul, together with the author’s replies. Second Edition, augmented

bythe seventh objections not previously published.’ Descartes commented

to Huygens: ‘This edition is more correct than the Paris edition, and

even a bit larger, primarily towards the end of my reply to the fourth

objections, where I unfettered myself to write that the common view

among our theologians about the Eucharist is not as orthodox as mine,

something that Father Mersenne had withdrawn in order not to displease

our theologians’ (iii.). Descartes went out of his way to underline

the extent to which theMeditationsrepresented the foundations of his

whole philosophical enterprise. He claimed, in reply to Father Bourdin,

that this building project was not the work of an ordinary mason, but

that it required the skills of a church architect and the kind of secure

foundations that are necessary for tall buildings in marshy Holland.