THIED EXPLANATION l EXTRACT FROM A 

 LETTER OF M. D. L. REGARDING HIS 

 PHILOSOPHICAL HYPOTHESIS AND THE 

 CURIOUS PROBLEM, PROPOUNDED TO 

 THE MATHEMATICIANS BY ONE OF HIS 

 FRIENDS, WITH AN EXPLANATION RE- 

 GARDING SOME DISPUTED POINTS IN 

 PRECEDING JOURNALS BETWEEN THE 

 AUTHOR OF.THE PRINCIPLES OF PHYSICS 2 

 AND THE AUTHOR OF THE OBJECTIONS. 

 1696. 



SOME learned and acute friends of mine having con- 

 sidered my new hypothesis on the great question of the 

 union of soul and body, and having found it of value, 

 have asked me to give some explanations regarding the 

 objections which have been brought against it and which 

 arose from its not having been rightly understood. 

 I think the matter may be made intelligible to minds of 

 every kind by the following illustration. 



Suppose two clocks 3 or two watches which perfectly 



1 E. has ' Third Explanation,' which is omitted by G. 



2 Nicholas Hartsocker. ' M.D.L.' is a pseudonym of Leibniz. 



3 See Prefatory Note. Geulincx's use of the simile is as follows : 

 * My will certainly does not move the moving power that it may 

 move my limbs ; but He who imparted motion to matter and 

 laid down laws for it, Himself also formed my will. Therefore 

 He bound together these most diverse things (the motion of 

 matter and the choice of my will), so that when my will wills, 

 such a motion as it wills occurs, and on the other hand when 



