DESCARTES. 



681 



Descartes, complied with it, but on the condition that he would 

 ■w^— *> transmit liim the solution of the problem. Descartes 

 accepted of the offer in a way so determined, as to ex- 

 cite the astonishment of the other party, who could 

 scarcely believe that a young officer could solve a pro- 

 blem which appeared to him so difficult. Descartes 

 found, from the card which he received, that he had 

 been conversing Avith Isaac Beeckman, the Principal of 

 the college of Dordrecht • and he was therefore doubly 

 solicitous about the solution of the problem On the 

 following day he went to the house of Beeckman with 

 the problem resolved, and offered also to show him the 

 construction of it. Beeckman was surprised at this ef- 

 fort of his young friend, but was still more astonished 

 when he found, by his conversation, that he was deep- 

 ly versed in the knowledge of the times, and had gone 

 far beyond himself in those sciences which had been 

 the particular object of his own studies. After this sin- 

 gular rencontre, Beeckman and Descartes were friends 

 and correspondents during the remainder of their lives. 

 When Count Maurice had become prince of Orange, 

 in 1618, and earned his army against the Armenians, 

 Descartes remained at Breda, where he composed his 

 Compendium Musicce, which was afterwards published 

 at Utrecht in 1650, in 4to'; at Amsterdam in 1656'; and 

 at London, in English, in 1653. Descartes spent a 

 great part of his time in the society of Beeckman, who 

 came to Breda in order to be near his learned friend ; 

 and it was at this time that he laid the foundation of 

 several works, which he afterwards published. 



The state of inactivity of the Dutch army, induced 

 Descartes to quit Holland, and repair to Germany, 

 where the coronation of a new emperor, the revolt of 

 the Bohemian states, and the war between the Catho- 

 lics and Protestants, had created a great ferment. He, 

 accordingly, set out from Breda in July 1619, and, 

 passing through Maestricht and Aix la Chapelle, he as- 

 sisted at the coronation of Ferdinand II. at Frankfort. 

 He now entered as a volunteer into the army of the 

 Duke of Bavaria ; and went into winter quarters at 

 Neuburg on the Danube, in October 1619, where he 

 devoted himself, without interruption, to his favourite 

 studies. On the 18th of November 1619, as he him- 

 self informs us, when he was lying in bed, filled with 

 enthusiasm, and occupied with the thought of having 

 discovered the foundation of true science, he had three 

 consecutive dreams, in which he thought that God had 

 pointed out to him the line of life which he should fol- 

 low, and the real method of investigating truth. Des- 

 cartes believing that these dreams were of heavenly in- 

 spiration, prayed to God to assist him in his investiga- 

 tions ; and in order to interest the Holy Virgin in the 

 same cause, he vowed to perform a pilgrimage to our 

 Lady of Loretto, which he accomplished after a lapse 

 of some years. 



Under the influence of similar feelings, he applied 

 for aid to the Rosicrucians, who boasted of being di- 

 vinely inspired ; but he could find none of the sect who 

 Were able to unfold their system, and he was compelled 

 to seek for truth in the only way in which it can be found, 

 in the humble path of sober and patient inquiry. The 

 Bavarian army having advanced to Suabia, Descartes 

 went to Ulm in June 1620, and spent the greater part 

 of the summer in that city. Here he became acquaint- 

 ed with John Faulhaber, a very learned man ; and it is 

 said that he at this time discovered the art of construct- 

 ing, in a general manner, all sorts of solid problems, 

 reduced to an equation of three or four dimensions. 



VOL. VII. PART II. * 



Descartes accompanied his regiment to Bohemia, and Descartej 

 was present at the famous battle of Prague. *■ ~" V"""* 



About the end of the year 1621, he quitted the Bava- 

 rian service, and entered the army of the Count de Buc- 

 quoy, which marched into Hungary in April. Descar- 

 tes was present at the siege of Presbourg, Tirnaw, and 

 several other places, where he is said to have signalized 

 himself; but the raising of the siege of Neuhausel, 

 where Bucquoy was killed, gave him a disgust with a 

 military life. Having left the army, he visited Mora- 

 via, Silesia, Poland, Pomerania, and the shores of the 

 Baltic ; and, in order to see West Friesland with advan- 

 tage, he purchased a boat, and embarked with a single 

 valet. The sailors, thinking that he was a foreign mer- 

 chant, and that much money would be found among 

 his baggage, resolved to throw him into the sea, and 

 seize his property. Imagining that he was ignorant of 

 their language, and dreading no opposition from the 

 tranquillity of his temper, they had the audacity one 

 day to talk of the plan in his own presence. Descartes 

 saw the danger to which he was exposed ; and rising 

 on a sudden, he drew his sword with the greatest fury 

 in his countenance, spoke to them in their own lan- 

 guage, and threatened to stab the first person that dared 

 to insult him. Overawed at this unexpected display of 

 courage, the sailors abandoned their cruel design, and 

 carried Descartes in safety to the place of his destina- 

 tion. From West Friesland he went to Holland and 

 the Netherlands, and he returned in safety to his father's 

 house at Rennes, in the month of March 1622. His 

 father took this opportunity of making over to him the 

 inheritance which he derived from his mother, and 

 which was situated in Poitou. After having resided 

 for some time in Paris, and freed himself from the im- 

 putation of being a Rosicrucian, which had been fixed 

 upon him by some of his enemies, he devoted himself 

 to the study of mathematics and moral philosophy. In 

 May 1623 he returned to Rennes, from which he re- 

 paired to his estate in Poitou, the greater part of which 

 he sold with his father's consent. Descartes now re- 

 solved to perform a journey to Italy. After passing 

 through Switzerland, the Grisons, and the Tyrol, he 

 arrived at Venice, and afterwards performed the pil- 

 grimage which he had promised to Loretto. In No- 

 vember 1624, he arrived in Rome, where he employed 

 his time in studying the manners and dispositions of 

 the people. In 1625, he left that city, and returned to 

 Paris by the way of Tuscany and Savoy. The reputa- 

 tion of Descartes had, by this time, been widely extend- 

 ed ; and his company was courted by all the learned 

 men of Paris. In the years l6'27 and 1628, his friend 

 Mydorge directed his attention to the method of grind- 

 ing lenses and mirrors ; and Descartes arrived at a great 

 degree of perfection, in executing even those of a hy- 

 perbolicand an elliptical form, which he found of great 

 service in investigating the phenomena of vision, reflex- 

 ion, and refraction. After having again resorted to a 

 retired mode of life, and been again discovered by his 

 friends, he went to see the siege of Rochelle, from which 

 he returned to Paris ; but the interruptions which he 

 again met with, inspired him with a firmer resolution 

 than he had yet taken, of retiring completely from so- 

 ciety. He accordingly left Paris in 1 628, committing 

 the charge of his affairs to the Abbe Picot ; and after 

 having spent four of the winter months in the country, 

 lie went to Holland in March 1629. From Amster- 

 dam he went to Egmond, a delightful village near 

 Franeker in Friesland, where he fixed his residence* 

 4n 



