Descartes, and His Method [pp. 314-319]

Descartes, and his Method.
remarkable individuals of that period,
first a scholar, then a soldier-two characters of which the union produces the
most brilliant class of men, politically
and socially. The Raleighs and the Sidneys of England, like the Cervantes and
Garcilasos of Spain, adorning the romantic side of their life with the cultivated
graces of intellect, form the most interesting collection in the portrait gallery of
the historian. The soldier dares more in
the pursuit of truth, sometimes, than the
recluse and contemplative student, and is
less subject to the dominion of fashion or
the prejudices of his time. The scholar
pursues a higher end, and with nobler
views, than the mere tactician, however
brave or ambitious. And as less is expected of either when both are united, so
it generally happens that more is performed.
"From my childhood," says he, "I
have been devoted to the cultivation of
letters; and as I had been persuaded
that by their means any one might obtain
a clear and assured knowledge of all that
is useful in life, I had an extreme desire
to make their acquisition. But as soon
as I had terminated that course~of study,
at the close of which it is customary for
men to take their position among the
learned, I completely changed my opinion.
He received his education at the college
of the Jesuits, at La Flche, where he
already showed so many marks of a contemplative and inquiring temper, that he
was often called "the philosopher." He
left college at the age of sixteen, and
entered upon the life usual among independent young men of that age, which
continued till he entered the army of
Maurice of Nassau, in 1617. All that
he had gained, meantime, by his education, was a capacity the more clearly and
certainly to convince himself of his ignorance, an opinion exceedingly rare among
young gentlemen at that exact period of
life when they pass from the academic
shades into the broad day-light of the
world. This position Descartes holds in
common with Socrates. Did these two
philosophers perceive or not that what
they mean to say is the assertion of a
very complete and finished science, which
can only be obtained in one way-by
profound study? It would certainly be
folly to take them literally at their word,
in the tense it has to the uneducated or
to the half educated. And this, more
than one sophist at Athens, found to his
cost, men, too, of no mean abilities.
"Nevertheless, I was in one of the
most celebrated schools in Europe, where,
as I thought, if anywhere on earth, wise
men were to be found. I had learned in
it all that others had learned there, and
not satisfied with the sciences which were
taught, I had perused all kinds of books,
treating of. the rarest and most curious
subjects, that I could lay my hands upon.
Beside, I knew the judgment of others
concerning me, that I was not held in
inferior esteem to any of my co-equals,
though several amongst them were already assuming the position of masters
'in the world of science. All this gave
me confidence in my opinion, that I had
formed, which was, that there existed no
such doctrine in the world as I had been
led to expect."
Confident, then, of the justice and rectitude of tie conclusion at which he had
arrived, he reviewed the circle of the
sciences and arts cultivated in his time,
and he shows us in what, and how, each
appears to be inadequate to the proposed
end. Languages, history, ancient and
modern, eloquence, poetry and the mathematics are examined in turn and dismissed successively, as having been found
wanting, though each has its utility,
which is not to be disputed. Theology
is unnecessary; for the most ignorant, as
well as the wisest, may gain heaven.
Philosophy and all the sciences that flow
from it, are too full of uncertainty and
disputes to satisfy a mind anxious only
for the possession of truth.
iHe next resolved to study the great
volume of the world, and to read men.
He passed the rest of his youth in travel.
He visited different countries; made himself familiar with the customs of differ
1860.]
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