ORIGINS OF MODERNITY

natural philosophy

Descartes, René (1596-1650)
Opera philosophica. Ed.4 nunc demum hac ed. diligenter recognita, & mendis expurgata
Amstelodami, apud Danielum Elzevirium, 1664.

This edition of Descartes' Works contains those of his writings which were most influential in the mid-seventeenth century, including the Discourse on Method and Principles of Philosophy. The Principles is Descartes' most ambitious work. It contains a fully developed natural philosophy, including his famous vortex theory of planetary motion. This edition lacks the posthumously published Treatise on Man which was published in Latin in 1662 and French in 1664.

Note too that it was printed in Protestant Amsterdam. Descartes' books were put on the Index of Prohibited Books in 1663 and were to remain on the Index 'until corrected'!