Descartes: A Biography

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The Quarrel and Final Rift with Regius 

way, Baillet’s defence is weak. Besides, Descartes’ own letters during this

period suggest that his state of mind did change soon after his arrival.

There was no significant change in Descartes’ reluctance to read other

people’s books, since he had always been that way. He told Mersenne in

Aprilthat he had read only ‘the first four pages’ of Roberval’s book

and that it would have been extremely tedious for him to write more about

it and for Mersenne to have to read what he wrote.Evidently, Roberval

was a special case, because he was described so often by Descartes as having

nothing worth reading. But during this period Descartes also repeated,

frequently, that he had lost interest for a long time in doing mathematics.

In general, he wished neither to read what others sent him, nor to write

anything in reply. Nor did he plan to write anything else himself, apart

from the letters that he drafted just in time for departing messengers. He

must have mentioned this decision to write no more to Chanut, during

their discussions in Amsterdam in October,because Chanut compli-

mented him on his apparent change of mind, in August of the following

year, when he heard that Descartes had written something about the pas-

sions. ‘I was delighted to see in your letter a change in the chagrin that you

told me about in Amsterdam.’Unfortunately, this reversal to his former

active lifestyle was short lived, for he wrote to Mersenne, in October:

Finally I declare that, from now on, I do not wish to read any writings apart from

letters from my friends, in which they give me news about themselves....likewise, I

shall never write anything again apart from letters to my friends, the subject of which

will be ‘If you are well, that is good.’ I shall not get involved in any science, except to

instruct myself. I ask you to persuade all those who boast about having something to

object to my writings that, rather than send them to me, they should publish them.

Let them publish books against me as much as they wish; unless I find that the more

intelligent specimens are very good, I shall not even read them.

By November of,inthe same context in which he had quoted Seneca

to Chanut, he told him that ‘the best thing that I can do from now on

is to abstain from writing books’ (iv.). He still wished to pursue his

studies but only for his own instruction, and he offered to communicate

his thoughts privately to his trusted friends as he had earlier promised to

Mersenne.

Finally, Descartes gives the appearance of calling a truce in the long-

running row with Voetius. ‘With regard to Voetius, he is someone that I

never think about any more.’The members of his own church could call

Voetius the ‘ornament and glory of the Dutch Church’ (iv.)ifthey

wished, but nothing would entice Descartes into any further comments