Des Cartes continued the exposition of his philoso- phy by publishing in Latin in 1644 his Prineipia Piu losopkuB. This work contains the elaborate and sys- tematic deduction of his whole scheme of the intellec- tual and jiiaterial universe. It commences as charac- teristically as the Novum OrpanoH of Bacon, with the frmdamei^ principle of his speculation, that ** once in life we should endeavor toidoubt of all thbigs." It arrives at length at the declaratioif that " none of the phenomena of nature have been omitted in the treat- ise, but that nothing is to be included in natural phe- nomena except what is detected by sense.'* The last sentence of tliese Principles is equally characteristic of the philosopher and the philosophy. "Mindfrd of my weaknesses, I affirm nothing ; but I submit all these things first to the authority of the Catholic Church, next to the judgment of ^ prudent; and I desire nothing to be believed by any one which is not approved by manifest and irrefragable reasons. ' ' The work is preceded by a complete and methodical index, stathig Uie substance of each section, and thus afford- ing a dear and concise summary of its contents. The whole of Cartesianism is thus compressed into one pic- ture and into a few pages.
During his long residence in Holland, the tranquil- lity of Dee Cartes was disturbed by controversies due to the imprudence of his admirers. His annoyances and hazards increased with the lapse of time. His hn- itial doubt seemed to sanction scepticism and to en- courage infidelity. His views of matter and mind appeared to one party to favor transubetantiation ; to another, to lead to fetalism. His explanation of the connection of body and spirit apparently reduced all material action to mere mechanisiq, or to direct divine action. Hence arose the truculent attacks of VoCt, one of the most ]tfominent Dutch theologians, and rec- tor of the University of Utrecht. Des Cartes at length
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broke hU customary sileBce, and addressed a long and acrimooioos reply to Vofit.
These dissensions, so peculiarly irritating and alarm- ing to a cautious and timid nature like Des Cartes's, inclined him to cast about for a more tranquil retreat than that which he had so long cherished. He accord- ingly consented, after much habitual hesitation, to re- ceive a shelter fh>m queen Christina of Sweden, who had been delighted with his treatlM on the Passions, originally composed for the princess palatine Elizabeth. A Swedish admiral, with a royal vessel, was sent to con- vey Des Cartes to Stockholm, where he was welcomed with honor and fiivor. The queen was charmed with his conversation and sought his advice, which he gave with modesty and prudence. She availed herself sys- tematically of his instructions, employing the early hours for this purpose, to avoid interference with other studies, with state affiiirs, and the royal pleasures. Des Cartes was required to forego his lif<»-long habits, and to attend her majesty regulariy at five o* clock in the cold mornings of a Swedish winter. This great change, an<^the severity of the climate, proved fatal to him. He was attacked with fever on Feb. 2, 1650, and died on the 11th of the month. The quean was deeply affected by the announcement of his death. She desu^ to place his body among the royal sepul- chres, and to honor it with a splendid tomb ; but as he died in the bosom of the Roman Catholic Church, his remains were deposited in the Roman Catholic ceme- tery. Sixteen years after his death his remains were removed to France, and placed with imposing ceremo- nies in the church of Ste. Genevieve. The funeral ora- tion designed for the occasion was prohibited by order of the court ; but the like honor was rendered a centu- ry later, 1765, by the eulogy of M. Thomas, which was crowned by the French Academy.
The PhUosophjf of Bet Cartes.— The Cartesian philos- ophy is to be ascertained ftom the Method, the Medi- tations, and the Principia. The reonaining works are either subsidiary or accessory ; either* developments and expositions which confuse rather than elucidate, or special treatises on particular branches of science, such as geometry, diop&ics, meteorology, anatomy, physiology, logic, etc To one solicitous of apprecia- ting the whole intellectual habit of the plftlosopher, the large collection of his letters is as indispensable as the letters themselves are often charming. To one desirous of obtaining a teinute acquaintance with all the perplexities, ambiguities, and vacillations of the Cartesian system, these letters, together with the ob- jections and replies appended to his Meditations, are invaluable. All the smaller works should, of course, be studied by those who would determine the exact position of Des Cartes in the history of speculation, and the precise services rendered by him in the pvomo- tion of science.
The first principle of Cartesianism is to make the mind a perfect blank, a tahuia rasa, and then to re- construct the whole &bric of conviction and opinion. The same recommendation is given, in a different spir- it, by Bacon in the preface to the Novum Orgomon. As Des Cartes recognised the uncertainty and incohe- rence of contemporary speculation, he proposed to commence the resuscitation of knowledge by doubting all things.
Having rendered his mind a blank by universal doubt, he next sought a foundation for an indubitable body of doctrine. This he dectected in the conscious- ness of thought, including sensation, perception, re- flection, and emotion under this term. Hence pro- ceeds the celebrated inauguration of his whole philos- ophy with the maxim CogiUt^ ergo ram— I think, therefore I am. This is probably an original position with Des Cartes; but thought is, nevertheless, ex- plicitly alleged by Aristotle as an evidence of exist- ence {Eth, Nicomach, IX, ix, § 7, 9, ed. Didot). The