14 INTRODUCTION 



epistemological subjects, Leibniz, in 1710, published his 

 Tfieodicee, the one great work of his which was printed 

 in his lifetime. It was written, not continuously, but at 

 intervals, in a very diffuse and discursive style, and its 

 purpose was to develop the principles of its author's 

 philosophy in maintaining, against the 'arguments of 

 Pierre Bayle, the harmony of faith and reason, and to 

 'vindicate the ways of God to man/ The writing of 

 the Theodicee was suggested to Leibniz as the result of 

 conversations with Queen Sophia Charlotte of Prussia, 

 who also induced him to write various other philo- 

 sophical papers, and who encouraged him in his plans 

 for the founding of an Academy at Berlin. Besides the 

 exposition of his system which he gives in such elaborate 

 works as the Nouveaux Essais and the Theodicee, Leibniz 

 met the objections of critics and suggested new applications 

 of his principles in the course of a varied correspondence. 

 On questions of mathematics and physics in their con- 

 nexion with metaphysics, he corresponded with John 

 Bernouilli for more than twenty years (from 1694 to 

 1716), and for ten years (1706-1716) he discussed with 

 Des Bosses the possibility of combining his philosophy 

 of substance with the presuppositions of the doctrine 

 of transubstantiation. Further, among many other epi- 

 stolary discussions, mention may be made of Leibniz's 

 correspondence, during the last two years of his life, 

 with Bourguet on the chief doctrines of his philosophy, 

 with special reference to biological questions, and with 

 Clarke on space and time and the Divine attributes. 



Founding of Academies. Closing Tears. 

 The amazing intellectual activity of Leibniz found 

 expression in many other writings. During the greater 

 part of his residence at Hanover he worked at a history 

 of the house of Brunswick, in connexion with which he 

 travelled much and ransacked the libraries of Germany 

 and Italy. He suggested the development of mining in 



