D E S 



684 



D E V 



Descarte*. and conducted at liis own expence ; and his remains 

 were accordingly interred in the cemetery for foreigners, 

 which had heen appropriated for Catholics, and chil- 

 dren who died before they had the use of their reason. 

 A monument was erected over his ashes, and in a few 

 months afterwards a medal was struck in Holland in 

 commemoration of his brilliant talents. 



About 17 years afterwards, M. D'Alibert, treasurer- 

 general of France, conveyed the body of Descartes, at 

 his own expence, to Paris, where it was interred, with 

 great pomp, in the church of St Genevieux du Mont, 

 and a bust in bas relief, with an appropriate inscrip- 

 tion, was raised over his grave. 



In the personal character of Descartes, we have not 

 to lament any of those vices with which genius is so 

 often allied. If the most unsullied integrity, if piety 

 which was never excited by self-interest, if a constant 

 disposition to forgive his enemies, and live with them 

 in peace, if a contempt of wealth and honours ; — if 

 these leading features, united with all the lesser virtues, 

 conspire to form a great character, Descartes, who 

 possessed them all, must stand high in the estimation 

 of posterity. Even the unsettled habits of his life, and 

 the sudden changes from the most sequestered privacy 

 to the bustle and gaiety of a court, never disturbed the 

 tranquillity of his mind, nor engendered any of those 

 habits by which the most virtuous are sometimes en- 

 snared. 



His physical and metaphysical writings cannot be 

 viewed in any other light than as ingenious specula- 

 tions, and the productions of a vigorous fancy ; but his 

 optical and his mathematical discoveries, if he had done 

 nothing else, would have entitled him to that immor- 

 tality which he is now enjoying. In various articles 

 of our work, we shall have occasion to give an account 

 of the leading tenets of the Cartesian philosophy ; we 

 cannot, therefore, detain our readers at present with 

 the detail of opinions which must necessarily appear 

 under these articles. 



Besides the works of Descartes which we have men- 

 tioned, he left the following in MSS. : 1. A Treatise on 

 Man ; 2. On the Formation of the Foetus ; 3. On 

 light ; 4. An Explanation of Engines ; 5. Letters. 

 All of these, except the Explanation of Engines, were 

 published by M. Clerselier. The two first appeared with 

 the notes of Louis de la Forge ; and his Letters were 

 published in three volumes. 



Descartes left also several fragments : such as his 

 Treatise on Algebra- Papers on Metals, Plants, and 

 Animals ; An Abridgment of Pure Mathematics ; De- 

 tached Thoughts on the Soul, on Nature, and on the 

 Construction of the Universe. He had also begun a 

 work, entitled, Studium bonce mentis ; and another, 

 written in the form of a dialogue, entitled Recherche 

 de la verite par la lumiere naturelle, qui toute pure et 

 sans emprunter le secours de la Religion ni de la phi- 

 losophic determine les opinions que doit avoir un honnete 

 homme sur ioules les ckoses qui peuvcnt occuper sa pen- 

 see. 



See Baillet La vie de M. Descartes contenant Vhistoire 

 de sa Pkilosophie et des ses autres ouvrages, Paris, 

 ]6'93j Perrault's Homines illustres du xvii. Siecle ; M. 

 Thomas' Eloge de R. Descartes, which was crowned by 

 the French Academy in 1765; Brucker's History of 

 Philosophy, by Enfield, vol. ii. cap. 2 ; and Montuclas 

 Histoire des Maihematiques, torn. ii. See also Alge- 

 -!ra, vol. i. p. 416, Metaphysics, Optics, and Phy- 

 sics, (t) 



DESFONTAINIA, a genus of plants of the class 

 Pentandria, and order Monogynia. See Botany, p. 

 171. 

 DESIGN. See Painting. 



DESIGN, in Weaving. See Cloth Manufacture. 

 DESMANTHUS, a genus of plants of the class Poly- 

 gamia, and order Moncecia. See Botany, p. 344. 

 DESPOTISM. See Government. 

 DESSAU, in Latin Dessavia, is a town of Germany, 

 in the principality of Anhalt Dessau. It is situated in 

 a delightful plain on the Mulda, at a short distance 

 from its confluence with the Elbe. The streets in the 

 new part of the town are wide and handsome, and the 

 public buildings are elegant. The principal of these 

 are, the palace, the new chancery, the riding school, 

 the hunting house, the bridge over the Elbe, and the 

 cemetery, which is remarkable for its monuments. Be- 

 sides these, there are two Calvinistic and one Lutheran 

 church, a grammar school, and several charitable foun- 

 dations. The gymnasium, formerly the philantro- 

 pinum, which was founded hy Basedow, for the educa- 

 tion of boys of good family, has given great celebrity to 

 Dessau. There is also in this town a chalcographick 

 society, and an institution for the education of the 

 Jews. The institution established at Dessau for print- 

 ing and publishing books on account of the authors 

 themselves, without the interference of booksellers, 

 contributed greatly to the diffusion of knowledge. The 

 most interesting objects in the neighbourhood of Dessau, 

 are the embankment against the Elbe, which is about 

 60 feet broad at its base, about 10 or 11 feet high, and 

 about 25,016 feet long ; and the castle and park of Woer- 

 litz. The principal manufactures are woollen cloths, 

 tobacco, stockings, and hats. Population 7000. See 

 Wegweiser durch die Scheusiuurdigkeiten in Dessau von 

 Rode Dessau, 1795. (;) 



DETARIUM, a genus of plants of the class Decan- 

 dria, and order Monogynia. See Botany, p. 221. 



DETROIT, a port town of the United States, and 

 principal place of the county of Wayne. It is situated 

 between the lakes Erie and St Clair, on the western bank 

 of the Detroit river. The town consists of several narrow 

 and dirty streets, which run parallel to the river, and 

 are crossed by others at right angles. The foot-paths 

 are formed of square logs, in order to accommodate the 

 passengers in wet weather. The town is encircled with 

 a strong stockade, with four gates, which are defended 

 by block houses. On the west side of the town is a 

 small square fort, with bastions, and a field piece at 

 each corner. The town contains a Roman Catholic 

 church, and a Huron church on the other side of the 

 river, which was formerly devoted to the Huron In- 

 dians. There are extensive wooden wharfs for the ac- 

 commodation of the shipping ; and there are no fewer 

 than twelve trading vessels belonging to the town, so 

 that it carries on a very considerable commerce, which 

 consists in exchanging coarse European goods for the 

 furs, deerskins, and tallow of the natives. Number of 

 houses 300. Population 1200. West Long. 82° 56', 

 North Lat. 4.2° 40'. (j) 



DETTINGEN. See Britain, p. 627. 

 DEUCALION. See Deluge and Mythology. 

 DEVAUXIA, a genus of plants of the class Mo- 

 nandria, and order Polygynia. See Brown's Prodromus 

 Plant. Nov. Holl. &c. p. 252, and Botany, p. 84. 

 DEVIL. See Demoniacs. 



DEVIZES, a market and borough town of England, 

 in Wiltshire. The town has an elevated situation,. 



Desfon- 

 tainia 



II 

 Pevizes. 



