Descartes: A Biography

end CUNYB/Clarke     December, :

 Notes to Pages–

.Descartes to Mersenne,April(ii.) andJune(ii.).

.Descartes to Mersenne,June(ii.).

.Descartes to Mersenne,November(ii.).

.Forexample, he wrote about Galileo (October) that he saw nothing in

his books that would cause him envy, that his best work was in music (confusing

Galileo with his father, who had written about musical theory), and that there

was a much better chance that Galileo had borrowed from him than the reverse!

(ii.–)

.Baillet (), ii..

.Quoted by Adam and Tannery, ii..

.Bannius wrote to William Boswell (an English diplomat living at The Hague),

January, that Descartes had visited him at Haarlem on Januaryand

that they had discussed musical theory together (ii.). Descartes writes about

Bannius as ‘not only a Catholic but also a priest, who I think has a benefice at

Haarlem. He is very expert in the practice of music’ (Descartes to Mersenne,

May: ii.). The following year, onOctober, Descartes and Bannius

met again ‘at midday’ to discuss music (CM viii.).

.Descartes attended this service onNovember,asapublic celebration of the

victory of the Dutch over the Spanish fleet at Duins,October.

.Descartes to Plemp, August(ii.).

.Descartes to Mersenne,July(ii.).

.Descartes to Mersenne,November(ii.) andJanuary: ‘Given

the few copies that the publisher says he had sold, I do not see any real likelihood

that he will have it reprinted’ (ii.).

.He did not observe this self-imposed interruption, for he wrote to Mersenne again

one monthlater, onFebruary, although he repeated the request not to forward

any writings and even to discourage potential correspondents from sending him

anything (ii.–).

.Descartes to Huygens,January(ii.–).

.Descartes to Mersenne,February(i.).

.Descartes to Wicquefort,October(Bos and Vermeulen:) and

October(iii.).

.Descartes to Mersenne,March(iii.).

.Huygens gave as his address ‘the fort of Nassau on the island of Voorn’.

The De Voorn fortress was situated between the Maas and Waal Rivers, near

Heerewaarden, and was also the return address for Huygens to Descartes,June

. See Verbeek et al. (),.

.Descartes to Mersenne,February(ii.).

.Apart from Huygens and Mersenne, who often asked Descartes to reconsider

his decision not to publishThe World,Pollot (I,), Saumaise (Cohen:;

), and Rivet (CM, vii.–) all referred to the unpublished work. Mersenne

even suggested that if the prince of Orange were to use his influence, Descartes

might relent and agree to publish. He suggested this to Rivet, who at the time was

governor to the prince’s children (CM, viii.–).