Original subtitles

He drew the six stars of the Bull, the Pleiades are called,

six, because the seventh hardly ever appears,

around which another 40 stars are crowded,

invisible to the naked eye, far away

by no more than just half a degree.

By virtue of his telescope, a very faithful copy of which I show you here,

obtained with a system of valuable Dutch lenses,

the Milky Way, which appeared to us like a cloud,

has been inspected and studied

to such a precise degree that we can call the countless disputes

that tormented philosophers for centuries as resolved.

The galaxy, in fact, appeared clearly like a tannery

of countless stars.

The thing is clear in whatever region

the observer directs the telescope at.

Galileo Galilei then divulged that four planets exist in the skies,

that have never been seen since the origins of the world

and that he had discovered and observed their positions, over two months.

They told us that the mathematician of the Grand Duke of Florence

has also discovered the secret of sun spots,

what news do you give us on this point?

At Florence I discovered that Galilei has studied this point a good deal

but unfortunately he still cannot give a definitive reply,

or better, if the spots are really vapours, exhalations,

clouds, or fumes produced by the solar body.

About the nature of these spots he is still uncertain

as there could be a thousand other things we cannot see.

But the thing about the sun, he believes he can state,

as an absolute certainty,

one of his convictions, agreeing

his studies with those of the Pole Copernicus is that

the mobility of the earth is the stability of the sun

around which the planets move according to fixed orbits.

May I?

Yes go ahead.

If Mr Galilei insists in his mistake...

It's not a mistake, it's a reasonable hypothesis.

But he's denying the Bible, Joshua in fact told the sun to stop

and on his command, the sun, moving through the skies, stopped.

It is clear that the words of the Bible must be

interpreted in a different way. And Galilei...

I am saying that if he continues to insist in his mistake

I do not see why you should divulge

his theory to us,

right here at the noble La Fleche college.

You have talked of Galilei

as if he were a new Aristotle,

his doctrine is mistaken,

an error he has committed

because of his pride which confuses the faith of the people.

The earth is at the centre of the universe, all the testimonies

of men , of the humble just like of the learned,

confirm this truth from the beginning of time.

I find all your disdain exaggerated Mr De Bastion.

Our intelligence must never be subjected

to an unreasonable fear of an error,

it must confront it and know it,

in order to win over it.

Galilei's hypotheses have raised numerous criticisms every where,

men of science and of the church have rushed to warn him,

but as far as we know, a definitive judgement

has still not been pronounced about his doctrine.

And if his calculations prove to be correct,

they will not be able to contradict the truth in any way.

I think it is important for all of you to apply yourselves

to studying the information

that Mr De Simone has brought us from Florence. Deo Gratia.

Deo Gratia.

May the others come forward.

I say that it is absurd to compare Galileo to Aristotle.

Aristotle constructed his doctrine

on a perfect system of syllogisms,

while Galileo's science is born by observing the Universe.

Talking is not allowed Mr Descartes

Excuse me Gentlemen.

Swords in line. Salute.

On guard.

Knee-flex.

On guard. Knee-flex.

On guard. Knew-flex.

On guard. Second defence. On guard.

Knee-flex. On guard. At ease.

Lunge. On guard.

Twirl.

Come forward!

You asked permission to read

Cornelio Agrippa's text

''Natural Magic'' and the one by Giovanni Battista Della Porta

on the same subject.

Yes, I wish to compare them. I like curious things.

They say that in ''Natural Magic'' there are the best explanations

about magnetism that can be read

and the most acute observations about the obscure chamber.

I give you permission to read them,

but I must remind you about what our rule advises.

In these kinds of studies it opportune to incite, push

and encourage those in need

and it is necessary to slow down those who run too fast.

And you my dear Descartes run a lot.

Our purpose is that of acquiring knowledge

to help souls with the aid of God,

and therefore, in every study we follow the strictest and most appropriate doctrine

and we adopt the authors who teach this and an order is followed.

This why only after having laid down a solid foundation

with a knowledge of Latin, humanistic arts and logic,

natural and moral philosophy, metaphysics and theology

can become the object of careful study

I adhere scrupulously to this rule.

But I do not feel any enthusiasm for these sciences.

I know.

Cornelio Agrippa's book on natural magic

will certainly give you more pleasure than a scholastic philosophical text.

Go now.

I thank you Father.

Young Descartes is full of curiosity,

I gave him permission to read another two books.

His passion for the new sciences is perhaps excessive.

He is convinced that if the new sciences lead towards the truth,

they help one to discover and love God who is the real truth.

Are you still studying?

I asked for permission to be able to conclude this reading of optics.

I know and tomorrow you are leaving the college.

Ah, it's Della Porta again.

You love physics very much

But truthfully, have you always been diligent in every subject?

I was a pupil of this college for nine years,

and I don't think there is another place in world, where they teach philosophy better,

but you are correct,

the new sciences

are the ones I loved the most.

You want to become a mathematician, astronomy, isn't that true?

Yes, but my father ordered me to take the Diploma in Law

at Poitiers University, and law doesn't interest me at all.

What are you going to do then?

I don't know yet...

Father, I will try to find out.

Give me your news when you can,

I wouldn't like not knowing any more about you,

the important thing however, is for you not to get lost in the world

and to do everything for the greater glory of God.

Of course.

I'll try not to get lost.

Ah the ''Angelus''.

Let's go.

Straightaway after, I'll get back to reading.

The King's guards have killed her husband,

Grand Marshal Dams, the leader of the government.

The faults of bad government are his.

She was the black soul of her husband.

The two Italians, with the Queen's favour

expected to govern France.

I know that Luigi XIII has given proof of great ability,

he's got rid of them and the people are satisfied.

Is Mr Le Vasseur at home?

Yes Sir.

Rene Descartes, Landlord of Peron.

Let him in.

I've been awaiting you for several days.

How's your father? He wrote to me...

But truly...

I don't know sir,

I come from far away, from La Turenne.

I haven't seen him for more than two months.

Unfortunately you have found much excitement at Paris.

Oh, I don't know the intrigues of court,

but it seems right to me

that the young king wants to govern himself

rather than letting

an intriguing courtier do so.

Yes, you're right.

What do you intend to do now that you're in Paris?

What plans do you have? I could help you.

I've already told that to my father.

I would really like no one to help me.

I have decided...

not to start any career.

I need to wait still.

But then if you are undecided, you'll need some help.

No, because I'm absolutely not undecided.

I just want to find out by myself,

alone...

how this world is made up.

Paris, for example.

Since I left the college

I've realised

that I've learned nothing

that might be useful to me

in life.

Good God

how I adore your hair,

it's like gentle waves on your forehead.

and it caresses your beauty gently

and it makes me jealous when I kiss you.

Your mouth is amber and pink,

but your words will cut me to the quick

if while you kiss me you do not tell me

that to love is a sublime thing.

Come with me, the wind is blowing strong, he certainly can't hear us,

and what we'll do here

will be a very sweet mystery.

Wonderful.

You say that you don't like law, but you certainly love poetry,

and I am sure that you will soon come to tell me that you have discovered love in Paris.

I want to discover completely different things here, at Paris.

That's very uninteresting sir.

Oh no it's not, I can most absolutely assure you.

Come, I'll accompany you to your room.

Here's your room , I hope you like it.

It'll be fine.

Your father wrote that you are a little wild,

but here you can feel at home.

I thank you, sir.

Put it down here.

Sir!

Sir!

What's up?

You know I don't want to be disturbed.

Yes I know sir, but it's midday.

A man has been waiting for an answer to this ticket for two hours.

It is an invitation from Father Mersenne to the ''Padri Minimi'' convent.

Mersenne is an elderly pupil of the La Fleche college.

Tell him I'll go.

Go, go.

What do think then, of these false sciences

that affirm without ever proving anything.

They invoke the hidden qualities of the moon and the constellations.

What must we think about the many who give up praying to God and the saints

to direct magic prayers to the stars.

What must we think about these astrologers

who dare

to make a horoscope of our Lord Jesus Christ.

A wise man is neither a diviner nor even less a magician

he is someone who loves the truth

and like Aristotle believes in nature

and shows it by studying causes

and the succession of phenomena.

I certainly do not approve everything about Aristotle

because almost two thousand years have passed since his death

and man's science has progressed a good deal.

But as for the search of the truth,

I repeat again here...

What I've said many other times.

Aristotle is an eagle,

the others are just little chicks.

But Reverend Father

in the search for the truth

Plato says one thing,

Aristotle says another,

Epicure another one again,

Agostino seems to indicate a different way

to that of Tommaso D'Aquino,

Telesio, Campanella, Bacon and other innovators

bring still yet more diverse arguments.

You said that apart from Aristotle, they are all chicks,

don't you think you're exaggerating.

The sums of the scholastic philosophers

founded on the doctrines of Aristotle

seem to be perfect constructions

that lead to the truth,

when you study them

remaining enclosed inside the walls of a library

or of a college...

But they seem very remote

when confronted

with the thousands and thousands of phenomenon

that are the reality of our world.

Can any of these ever teach us something with authority

about which there can be no possible doubt.

You are too young,

you still have much to study.

And you talk in an inconsistent way, probably about Aristotle

you only know the citations shown to us in the summae...

And you, you... are certainly Mr Descartes.

My young La Fleche fellow student.

Father Francoise of the company of Jesus,

recommended this young man to me,

Mr Descartes

who has a great passion for mathematical sciences.

You'll be able to get to know him better later.

Certainly gentlemen ,

but I ask you now to continue

and to excuse my interruption.

Well now...

Let's get back to where we were.

Come and look.

Come.

I've had an idea. I've found the way of measuring the humidity in the air.

Now, I'll show you what I've thought up.

Look at these two strips of paper,

the first is in its natural state,

this other one

I moistened previously,

shrinks on drying.

With this method, I believe

that I can measure different degrees of humidity

like we measure different degrees of heat with a thermoscope.

It's interesting.

You'll see the effect in a few minutes.

I see that in the scientific field

you don't follow Aristotle

but I don't understand...

if you reject his science,

why ever do you diffuse the philosophy?

You're not telling me that you too

belong to the innovators,

and reject all kinds of philosophy.

No, I don't reject philosophy at all,

but the doctrines appear to me constructed

on not very safe bases,

such as sand.

I would be displeased if through this way

you were to reach scepticism,

this is a danger you know well.

What do you do to avoid it?

I do not look for any other science

that I can't check out

by myself

and...

I draw my lessons from life,

rather than from the books.

But if the authority of the philosophers makes you gloomy

Who else do think may guide you?

The conviction, Father,

that in the natural condition,

in our soul,

there are seeds of truth

and that it is precisely these seeds

that can give us the ability

to distinguish what is true, from what is false.

The seeds of truth.

You should write your observations down

about the philosophy of our times,

a very useful discussion could be born out of it.

Write?

Ah no. I can't do that Father,

I still haven't reflected enough.

I hope at least you'll come and find me from time to time

to speak with me

and with my gifted friends

if that would please you.

Of course, I'll be around.

I thank you.

There, did you see?

One day, the old Marshall of Roclair,

took me to visit a certain Guglielmetta

to ascertain that she could speak

in very different languages whilst she was possessed by the devil.

I approached her and began to talk to her in five

or six different languages, without having any reply

other than incomprehensible words and horrible swearing in Gascon.

At a certain moment

a priest entered the room

and she came back to normal.

A deception, gentlemen ,

nothing more than a deception.

It is my duty to warn you that by trying not to believe

in the devil , you'll end up not believing in God anymore.

And this is why I believe in the devil.

Double six, I've won.

Lord of Candal

permit me to present

my friend Rene Descartes to you, Landlord of Peron.

You are welcome. Mr Descartes would you like to taste some tea,

the drink the Dutch ships bring us back from China

Thank you.

It's also said to be very healthy.

Oh Yes. In fact my doctor recommended me to drink some

At least 50 cups a day. Too many perhaps. Please.

I always carry the Santum Regnum, a precious book, in my pockets

one of the scientific proofs of the ignorance and hypocrisy

of our century. Were you not friends, I would be careful

to show it to you because there are still many in France

who amuse themselves setting up pyres for heretics and witches.

Ah I see that you're afraid.

Well, that makes me happy.

People who know fear are wise.

Listen, it's a scientific book.

A person who longs to make a pact with hell, chooses which devil to call up

It's not right to disturb Satan , if a lesser infernal power

is sufficient to satisfy your desires.

There, as you see, discretion is a necessary virtue,

even in hell.

For the evocation the following is prescribed.

A blood stone sold at the chemist's

and two blessed wax candles.

There is also a prayer of certain effect.

Oh Lord Lucifer, lord of the rebel spirits,

I beg for your help, and I call your Minister

Lucifugero to stipulate a contract with him.

Make me appear in human form and without a bad smell.

Well, don't you think it's just mad exaggeration

which even the court, unfortunately worries itself about

and about which the Sorbonne holds theological debates.

It's absurd.

It's nothing to be amazed about.

At Paris everything is discussed.

You can't peacefully use your own reason

because you always find someone

willing to demonstrate

that there exists a truth more true than another with a thousand quibbles.

We should free ourselves from the Advisors of the Crown,

the Members of the Curia,

the Jesuits and the Dominicans,

the learned men of the Sorbonne and

the influential courtiers.

And also Mr Diluinne, the king's favourite.

Right.

Don't be amazed Sir, they are honoured gentlemen,

but they cannot stand neither priests, nor the Spanish party nor Jesuits,

which are in fact the same thing.

Above all, they want to be free.

Mr De Someuse knows them well, he's one of them.

I'm Guez De Balzac.

I congratulate you Mr Descartes,

I listened to you at the Minimi convent

and I must acknowledge your courage.

Mr De Clave was condemned for having said things

much less prudent than your speech in public.

I wouldn't have imagined it.

Gentlemen!

Will you not also toast Maurizio of Nassau.

And why should we?

He prepares a new army,

he freed Holland from prejudices,

brought it to trade

and kicked out the pedantic priests,

his is the only land on earth where Calvinists

and Catholics live together, without giving each other too much irritation.

Don't take any notice of what he's saying.

Everybody knows that our great Teofilde Dio,

the poet of liberty

gets fired up easily.

To tell the truth,

very few Catholics have remained in Holland.

I am happy to toast Maurizio of Nassau with you

but above all I toast you

because I appreciate and love your splendid poetry.

I thank you for the compliment

but I warn you that adulation bothers me.

What I would really like

is to find a true friend, ready to drink with me.

Do you also intend to enroll

among the Catholics of the Prince of Nassau.

The best of the youth of Paris, wants nothing else today,

than to go to the Low Countries and to fight under his flags,

but I prefer to remain here in Paris,

I wouldn't know how to live without her salons.

Mr Descartes has come a long way from the teaching he received

from the reverend Fathers from the company of Jesus.

Rebellion against the teaching of the ancients frees the world.

But the way the ancients mapped out in the search for

the truth seems to me ever more full of confusion with every day.

We need to write new books,

to raise men up with poetry,

which is freedom because of its nature.

We must try to prevent falsehoods

coming to us

from the books of the ancients.

Often when the ancients were faced with problems

they didn't know the answers to

they demonstrated an error as the truth,

sustaining their theses with highly subtle arguments.

I want to come and listen to you and to be able to put these questions to you

if you would honour me with giving me your address.

I live in Rue Du Foulle at Mr Le Vasseur's house.

I thank you.

Find a place at the table for Mr Descartes and let him play.

Mr De Balzac loves liberty so much

that he even cannot stand his garters.

I have heard that you do not intend

to serve under Maurizio of Nassau, it that true?

Indeed.

You're making a bad mistake sir.

The only European countries where there is still

a residue of liberty are Venice and Holland.

Venice is a Republic

where trade happens

and they certainly do not discuss the creeds of their customers,

like in the Low Countries where Maurizio of Nassau

crushed the Spanish Inquisition enjoying the help

of the most valorous soldiers of France,

who were mainly Catholics

D o you want to start to play?

Messrs. Balzac and Someuse have come to visit you.

Let them come in.

Please excuse this interruption sir,

but we know that Descartes lives in your home.

Mr Descartes has hidden himself,

he left me without saying anything to me.

His servant came to find me in great secret.

He said that his master

had gone to hide himself in some suburb

and that he hadn't come out of his room for many days.

I confess that I 'm worried.

A kind of fire must have invaded his brain.

Because of the friendship that ties me to his father, I believe I am authorised

to violate his retreat, and was precisely just going to do that.

Would you like to accompany me?

Be careful down there!

We've been walking for more than half an hour, without ever arriving.

This is the place.

Here. You've made us cross Paris to find him.

Who is it?

Your friend Le Mersenne

in the company of Mr De Balzac and Mr Someuse.

Ah come in!

Dear friend, I confess that having remained for so long

without any news from you, I feared you were ill.

We met your servant by chance

who led us all the way to you, unwittingly, I must say.

I am moved by your concern ,

but don't be alarmed, I'm very well.

I closed myself into this room alone for many days

and reflected

on every moment of my life that I can remember

and have reached this conclusion.

I absolutely must free myself from my infancy

if I want to succeed in knowing

what human reason is capable of.

I want to give you a piece of news sirs, and you are the first to hear it.

I have decided to abandon my books

and to go to Holland,

to enroll in Maurizio of Nassau's army

like many other young Frenchmen.

What do say gentleman?

Are you really convinced that you'll succeed in leaving

that part of yourself in France that keeps your reasoning prisoner?

Well I've got to do something

to free myself from the prejudices

I grew up and was educated in.

Incredible...

Admitting to having prejudices.

It's a rare thing in our times for someone to recognize this.

When we were little

we learned that with tantrums and tears

we could make our nurses obey us

and thus also reached the conclusion that the world was at our disposal.

And in the same way

since ancient times,

humanity's infancy,

man persuaded himself that the earth was flat and not round

and that it remained immobile at the centre of the universe.

Also, many other false opinions were

formed about reality

that are still very difficult to get rid of today.

Our masters covered these

archaic opinions with wise words

and in doing so have strongly rooted

the force of the error they contain in us.

And you think that by going to Holland

You'll succeed in freeing yourself from the contagion of these errors?

I need to remove myself from the air of this city,

from the noise the words and opinions of its learned men make

to succeed in making my reasoning to work freely.

I have decided to refuse all opinions, even my own,

as if they were all false

and I have decided that I will not accept

them before carefully examining them carefully with my reasoning,

only accepting the ones I reach absolute certainty about.

I will behave like an apple seller, who empties the whole basket,

fearing the presence of a few bad pieces

and puts back only the sound fruit.

But I always thought that Paris was the city most capable

of stimulating the intellect and of giving

reasoning the greatest liberty.

I believed that too, but...

by travelling in the world

I'll be able to know the truth much better,

than through the debates of wise Parisians.

I see that you've already made your decision,

have you written to tell your father?

Of course I'd never set off on a journey without letting him know.

And when are you leaving?

Straightaway with little luggage

in which there will not be enough room for even one book.

Men who love liberty must follow it every where

because they believe it lives there.

And I see that you believe that liberty lives in Holland.

If you really do find it, write to me.

I'll write to you sir.

Bring us some beer.

It seems...

that only traders and sailors

live in this country.

Do you mind?

We would like to talk to you.

Take a seat.

Almost every morning, at this time,

I see you come here to drink your customary beer.

Do you find it good?

What do you want from us sir?

We know that you can handle a sword well.

Anyone who is adept, is a swordsman

But we have been told that you are very skilled,

and we have been observing you for several days.

You are never drunk.

I already asked you sir, what do you want from us?

I'm offering you recruitment.

Two thousand florins per year as masters of arms

two ships sailing

for the West India Company.

We are cadets without pay sir,

each of us has enough to live on.

But if you love adventure and like liberty,

there is nothing better for you than to take to the sea life.

We are offering you positions on two new merchant ships

- 600 toners - that have just been armed.

They are ships that look like palaces,

have thirty cannons and holds larger than

the warehouses of Mr Van Cliff of Amsterdam.

You would have a cabin and the sole task

of instructing the sailors and of commanding the ship's guard.

How many months would the job be for?

Just one voyage sir, 12 months.

You would find yourself with the tidy amount of two thousand Florins in your pocket,

because on the voyage you'd have little to spend.

Please realise that this is an excellent deal ,

the ships will land at the Dutch colony of New Holland

at the mouth of the river piloted by Hudson

in which you navigate like in a vast sea.

As far as I 'm concerned, I 'm not interested in your offer at all.

I couldn't take my servant with me on your ship

and I wouldn't have any comforts

which are indispensable for me to live and think.

It's strange for a soldier to be so attached to his comforts.

And you sir, do you refuse the offer?

Unfortunately I must return to Paris at the end of the year,

otherwise I'd accept.

I come to this tavern every morning to drink a glass of beer

If you should change you mind...

Just let me know.

Don't hold out any hope for me sir.

This problem has been put up here for two days now

and no one has yet come forward with the solution.

Go then friend and good luck.

Good-bye and thanks.

Excuse me sir,

I heard you speaking my language,

could you please translate the text for me to be more certain?

I haven't understood some of the details.

My pleasure sir.

Here is a mathematical problem for an illustrious mind.

A stone falls from A to B in one hour.

It is perpetually attracted by the earth with the same force,

without losing any of the speed imparted to it

by the previous attraction.

Well, what moves in space moves eternally.

The question is

how long will the stone take

to cross a given space.

Well the solution is simple.

Simple. But...

Why yes...

But I'm the person who posted this puzzle, despairing of ever

finding an answer to the problem, and I'm a mathematician.

I'm ready to give you an explanation whenever you like.

I'll wait for you at my house sir. I'm anxious to hear you.

Here at Breda, everyone knows where Isaac Beckman of Middle Border lives.

Here.

In this triangle rectangle

ABC represent the space,

in other words the movement.

The disparity of the space

from point A to the base BC represents the disparity

of the movement.

Consequently AD will be covered in the time

represented by ADE and DB in the time represented by DEBC.

Therefore, AB will be reached three time more slowly than AD.

Exactly.

Exactly.

Do you know what a scholastic learned man would have replied

to me in your place?

''Everything present in the universe

belongs in a place that is natural for it.

The place that is most suitable for it.

We can say that weight is no more than the appetite

that things have for finding that blessed place''

''Mr Beckman'' would have told me,

''Your problem is simply badly expressed.

just tell me first which body is falling

and I will tell you straightaway

where its preferred place is''.

But all this is simply absurd.

I see sir,

that you are refusing to explain

the physical phenomena to me

by attributing qualities to bodies

that belong only to the spirit.

This is why I love mathematics but practice medicine.

You're right.

Mathematics

is the only discipline

certainty comes to

us from.

Mathematical sciences teach us

the enumeration and calculation

of any movement,

the relationships, the proportions, of everything that

exists, of light and of sound.

Mathematical operations always express

evident and concrete logic.

For example, as you know, the equal sign is fundamental.

Mathematics demonstrates

all the possible disparities to us

in a strictly certain and exact way

and permits us to defend ourselves

from the tricks of appearances.

What I like about you sir,

is the fact that you don't speak the language

of Scholars

and that you discuss science

in a way that none of my fellow citizens would be capable of.

Do you know that almost all the good Calvinists go and listen to

the sermons and don't talk of anything else except business and theology.

You're not a Catholic are you?

No indeed not sir.

And you are certainly a Roman Catholic.

I'm French, sire and... Catholic.

But I am sure this

will not impede me from conversing with you.

I like you sir.

I confess that I would never have believed in finding a mathematician and a philosopher

hidden in a soldier's uniform.

I hope you'll return to visit me, sir, and often

as long as you are staying here at Breda.

It would be a great honour for me.

Sir,

you didn't go to the cavalry practice

this morning,

do you also want to miss the appointment with Mr Beeckman?

No.

These Dutch beds have made me lose my taste for sleeping.

No, no that one. Give me civilian clothes.

And so gentlemen

the soul of this animal,

is an inferior soul to that of man,

which is a superior soul,

and makes this stomach digest,

by extracting the juices from the foods necessary

to maintain life.

The doctor is attributing functions

to the soul which belong to the body.

It's an ancient prejudice,

a false infantile sensation

like all sensations

and a source of ruinous errors.

Excuse me if I intervene.

Go ahead.

You are wrong in believing sensations to be false.

When a boy dips a stick into a brook

he may believe it to be broken when looking at it,

but if he closes his eyes and feels the stick

along its entire length, both in and out of the water,

he will realise that his stick is straight.

He will then have corrected the visual sensation by touching

and will have re-established the truth without leaving the world of sensations.

No sir.

Because in our case

the boy's reason intervened

that makes him check the touch sensation after the visual one.

It is reason that leads him to correct his error.

Without the control of reason,

all sensations are false.

Here is the heart of this animal

that the soul moved thanks to

the pulsing faculty

it possesses.

The doctor is making affirmations the truth of which

he wouldn't know how to demonstrate.

He cannot tell us how

the inferior soul of this animal

acts directly on our heart.

What do you those gentlemen object to?

Why don't they speak up if they have something to say?

I say that to justify your affirmations you are repeating

ancient Aristotelian theories about the soul and that you trust in

your personal sensations.

What I teach sir, is the clear truth.

For the majority of men evidence is what they have always seen

from infancy, when adults offered their simple minds

an explanation for everything,

whilst in order to discover the nature of things

with absolute certainty, we have to free ourselves

from the vision of the world

we were given, handed down from father to son down the centuries

and we must rid ourselves of the tricks of sensations

and learn to use our reason better.

That is what I have to say.

And what vision of the world do you have to offer us in exchange my dear sir,

seeing that you deny what is handed down to us, the centuries of experience of the ancients.

A vision of the world that proves to be evident,

such as the one that comes to us from numbers, from mathematics.

So what you are claiming is to replace the teachings

of philosophy and the sciences, we have from such a long

tradition of learned men, with the mathematical teaching of our times.

But reality is not made of quantity,

there are qualities in things

and these are picked up through sensations,

those sensations you fear so much.

Permit me sir, to put you on guard against your claims,

because you could risk losing your mind

in a dark forest of numbers.

My young friend is an able and profound mathematician

and I hope you will understand his perhaps

slightly excessive enthusiasm

for the clarity that comes from numbers.

Yes, certainly sir.

I apologise for interrupting you gentlemen.

Please continue your dissertation.

Gentlemen.

I do not know if in two years time - in other words when

the twelve year truce ends -

the war against the Spanish will continue.

In any case, the glorious army of the United Provinces

of the Low Countries must by that time have an artillery

still more powerful than the Spanish knew

to their cost, before the truce.

This therefore is your task for today's lesson.

You must calculate the firing height of three canons,

and this in relation to the height of the bastions defending

the city of Ostende to effect a range that is as safe

and as powerful as possible.

Here are the distances of the canons from the bastions.

The first is found at 1000 feet,

the second at 750

and the third at 5000.

In 1603 the conquest of this port by our

troops cost a good four million Florins,

but it would certainly have cost much, much more

if Prince Maurizio of Nassau had not been able to count

on the best artillery in the world.

Firing height calculations are fundamental for artillery

and this is why I recommend more careful application

in studying this problem.

Good day gentlemen.

As usual, our friend D escartes will do the calculations.

Will he really do them?

Here are your calculations, gentlemen.

But be certain that when the war comes,

I will not be here to help you.

Don't worry the war is still resting for the moment.

And prince Maurizio of Nassau is only keeping an army armed

to sustain his political struggle against Van Oldenbarneveldt.

They fought together against the Spanish at the head of

the Federate Provinces for the freedom of Holland and they now fight

against each other like worst enemies.

Oldenbarneveldt is the more elderly,

and wise; he is he public's favourite.

Because he wants Holland to be a Republic.

And above all he does not want Maurizio of Nassau to become the King of Holland.

Do you think that Prince Maurizio will use the army against Oldenbarneveldt?

He has no need.

Prince Maurizio has already accused Oldenbarneveldt

of heresy for the support he gave

to a faction of Calvinists and Armenians.

Even among the Calvinists, the accusation of heresy can destroy a man

better than an entire army.

But if they condemn Oldenbarneveldt his partisans will rise up.

Whatever happens, in one month I will no longer be here.

In a month I'll be in Germany.

Duke Massimiliano of Baviera is recruiting troops.

and certainly with the license of our Academy,

I think I will be able to find a good officer post with him

and with pay.

And who will this war be against?

Against the Bohemians, rebelling against their King and Emperor Ferdinand II.

My uncle wrote to me from Ulma.

After the noble Calvinists the Bohemians have thrown

the imperial messengers and their secretaries out of Prague Castle window

with whom they should have negotiated the terms of an agreement.

In many parts of Germany troops are being armed.

The imperial Catholics are preparing to attack and destroy

the Bohemian protestants led by the Elector Prince of the Palatinate.

In Germany, a year doesn't pass when an army isn't armed.

It's always been that way.

There have always been some highly advantageous recruiting moments.

And there is also the excellent beer and the very beautiful women.

Mr Beeckman.

Good morning Mr Descartes.

I finally see you awake at an early hour.

Oh yes. I have great nostalgia for our good French beds.

I received your card.

Why do you want to abandon the Army?

I didn't come to stay.

I'm a soldier to study men and to confront

myself against life.

Now, I'm going to Denmark, and then, perhaps to Germany,

I don't know well yet.

And so you are abandoning your projects.

Sometime ago, you had promised to publish a Treatise

on Mechanics and Geometry, but since you've been at Breda

I haven't seen you write even one line on this subject.

Naturally that doesn't mean that I didn't appreciate that excellent musical compendium

you sent me as a Christmas present, but I confess

that I expected more from your mathematical mind.

I will write, I will keep faith with all my projects, don't worry.

But I still need to reflect.

I have understood that men, when assailed by curiosity,

run the risk of pushing intelligence

in ways unknown to them ,

staying without a precise aim ,

without a reasonable hope,

like by chance, as if guided just by imagination.

And yet, on more than one occasion , I've heard you formulate

some precise hypotheses and exact calculations.

I still need to reflect.

Well then, before setting off, you must promise me, at least,

that you'll send me a copy of everything you write.

Yes dear friend, I promise.

You here at Breda have awakened me from an old inertia

I was carrying around, you have brought back my misguided mind

to the serious study of mathematics.

How could I ever forget you.

In Germany at the start of the winter season,

the forced quartering of the army

obliged me to stay in a house

in which not having any cares or passions

to disturb my spirit,

I remained completely alone all day,

in a well heated room ,

where I could entertain myself with my thoughts in complete peace.

In this way, after a few days of reflection

a new basis of knowledge

came to me, as clear as a wonderful science

from which it is possible to produce

order in all the thoughts

that can enter the human spirit.

Just like a natural order exists between all numbers.

The night in which I saw this new principle, I had three dreams,

the first two, I must confess, mortally scared me,

the third however, was very sweet and pleasant,

it was the one in which I seemed to see the birth

of a new hope for the future.

Tell me your dreams.

Well, I saw myself walking along a road,

oppressed by a frightening vortex of wind,

with the impression of falling at each step.

Then, I saw a college

and it was there I took refuge,

trying to reach the Church of that college

to pray,

when in the windy courtyard I saw

a man I knew,

who I 'd overtaken without greeting.

I wanted to retrace my steps to apologise for my

lapse, but it was impossible as I was pushed back

with unheard of violence by the wind.

Whilst that person, and the others around him

were upright and stable on their feet.

I on the other hand was bent over and shaking,

as if that vortex of wind was blowing just for me.

When I awoke I was afflicted by a great pain.

I prayed to God to defend me from evil

and after the passing of two hours

in profound meditation on the good and evil things of this world

I went back to sleep again.

And straightway, I had another dream.

I heard a great thunder

and fear awoke me once again

and after opening my eyes

I saw the room

completely invaded by sparks on fire,

something that had happened to me on other occasions.

Marvelous, fire and light are important signs.

In a short time, by opening and closing my eyes alternately,

everything dissipated and I went back to sleep with great calm.

A moment later, I had the third dream.

Tell me, tell me.

I found a poetry collection in my hands,

the ''Corpus poetarum''.

I opened it and read this verse:

Quod vitae sectabor iter

Which road will I choose for my life

A man I had never seen

presented me at that same moment

with a text in verses that began like this:

''Est et non''

''Yes and no''.

These are very curious dreams and seem to hide

some important revelations

Have you discovered the meanings?

I examined them carefully.

My first dream Indicated the errors, the fears,

the doubts of my past life.

The second one could only have been the evident sign

of the spirit of truth that came down on me.

The third indicated the future.

''Est et non''

is the ''yes and no'' of Pythagoras,

a future in which

the truth will be revealed to me

and at the same time,

the falsity of human knowledge

and of the profane sciences.

I do not know what destiny awaits you Mr Descartes,

but I highly recommend you to pray to God to keep you humble,

because wisdom gets lost through science,

the absolute truth, namely God, remains a mystery for all men.

Your advice

is always full of...

wisdom.

You are always so disturbed, unstable.

It's incredible

you will never arrive at any result, if you do not once and for all choose

a fixed abode, in which to study and write.

You are right.

But when I stop in a city,

after seeing how the people live

and after talking with all those I judge worth talking to

I'm taken by a great desire to start travelling again.

And how long do you intend to stop in Paris?

For a very short time Father.

I have seen Mr Le Vasseur who talked to me of your dreams.

He told me that you believe that you have reached a new basis

for knowing the truth with absolute certainty.

Mr Le Vasseur exaggerated.

I must still reflect on what is still an intuition.

But you doubt everything.

To many you appear to be a sceptic,

but it has also been said that

you intend to repudiate all our old beliefs.

But not that of the faith, my Father, relax,

because the heavens are open to ignorant persons as they are to learned ones.

And as for me doubting everything, don't worry.

I have nothing in common with the sceptics,

I only want to build my convictions

on rock and not on sand,

as I have no intention of imitating those travellers

who when lost in a forest

start to turn and wander around without any direction.

I cannot stop myself from suspecting that there is

some pride in your affirmations.

Corruption lies there Doctor.

I'm having a comfortable trunk made for my travels.

Observe how the blacksmith works well.

Our Aristotelians maintain that the hammer must be swung

fast so that nature is surprised by the speed

and is not left any time to gather it forces in

to resist the impact of the hammer.

Don't you think their theory is absurd?

Absolutely.

It'll be ready soon.

I'll come back this evening.

I believe that a method of overcoming doubt and of producing certainty,

should mirror the mechanical arts,

that contain the principles according to which it is necessary to fabricate

the instruments necessary for them.

What a noise.

Yes, deafening, we'd best leave.

I must hurry to leave.

When are you leaving? And where are you going?

Perhaps to Italy.

But before departing I 'm going to visit my countryside at Turenne

to sell the part of my maternal inheritance

in land and herds,

but I will not sell before putting aside

a little butter from my cows for you.

I thank you and don't forget to write to me.

No.

May God help you.

Requiem eternam...

Here are the two deeds of sale. Mr Rene Descartes will receive

two thousand pounds from Mr Dielefis

for the purchase of the Gran Maison and Marchais estates,

another three thousand will be paid by Mr Chatillon

for the landed estate of Peron, and Mr Pierre Descartes,

the brother of Mr Rene Descartes has no objection?

No none.

I want it to be clear that purchase of the noble rights

over the Bonvenier land is part of the same transaction.

This appears in the contract according to the terms you

agreed at the time with Mr Descartes.

Very good, all you have to do now is to sign.

According to the terms, the contract will come into force in eight days time.

- Gentlemen. - Gentlemen.

- Good-day. - Good-day.

And so you want to free yourself of part of the inheritance.

This displeases me because I realise that you have decided

that you don't want to come back and live with us.

You don't love France.

I wish to live in a place useful to me,

that I like, where I can discover something,

where only a few people know me and where I can reflect in peace.

When will I be able to see you again?

I don't know. Certainly when I return from Italy.

You've sold some good rich land.

But I did so with good profit.

Theophile de Vian is an unpunished libertine atheist,

what malice to have had the impudence of writing

horrible blasphemies against God.

With his disgusting verses he has turned our Paris into a Gomorrah.

He has fled and we burn his effigy,

and together with his effigy,

his writings and the writings of all other libertines burn.

The prince of darkness must be hunted down in his realm.

In the eternal flame to which God has condemned him.

Burn him!

God will punish these libertines. Also on this earth he will punish them.

Intolerance is like the plague.

I've been away for three years, but every time I return to Paris

I always find something that upsets me

and that makes me want to leave as soon as possible.

You certainly wouldn't have been able to enjoy such an exciting spectacle as that in Italy.

So much barbarism and so much vulgarity amazes and upsets me.

Parliament has exiled the authors of the theses against

Aristotelian philosophy from Paris,

it has forbidden them from divulging and teaching under the pain of death

and has condemned Teophile together with many more of our libertine friends.

... who taught their vices and made even the

candid paper on which they wrote blush ...

A good job Teophile Vian managed to flee Paris,

so that now they have to content themselves with burning his effigy.

... but fire purifies the earth from their pride and will render justice to God.

The product of proud minds must be destroyed.

It is like the discord that suffocates the souls of simpletons.

They will be thrown into hell.

They will tell Father Mersenne that if I didn't go to see him

it's because I haven't left the house for a long time.

The air of Paris has become stifling for me.

Tell him however that I shall certainly be at the meeting he has prepared for me.

Thank you, sir, there are many of us would like to know

the fruit of your reflections

Father Mersenne has talked to us often about you.

Sirs, in bending in to Father Mersenne's insistence,

I wish to report to you what I have undertaken to write on this subject,

after two long years of reflection.

The twenty one rules for guiding intelligence.

It seems incredible to me that a great number of persons research

the customs of men,

the virtues of the plants, the motions of the stars,

the transformation of metals and many other similar disciplines with such fervour

and that no one takes the trouble of researching man's mind,

about how it may work correctly.

About the human mind, which is a wonderful and universal source of wisdom

and without which there would be no knowledge.

The first rule.

The aim of study must be that of guiding the mind to certain and true

judgements concerning everything presented to it

If someone seriously wants to find the truth, he must not just apply himself

to one particular science, because the sciences are all connected

and dependent on each other in the unity of knowledge.

The second rule.

We should only concern ourselves with those objects

that we think we can reach certain and safe knowledge of

through our intelligence.

On this subject, you need to know that among the sciences known today,

only arithmetic and geometry are free from falsity and uncertainties

because they consist entirely of logically deducing a series of consequences,

concern a pure and simple subject and their existence is not based

on anything that concrete experience has made uncertain.

With their aid,

man can fall into mistakes only by a lack of attention.

The third rule.

We must not stop at studying the opinions and conjectures

of others or ourselves, we must try to perceive

the real content of things, with the clarity of the evidence.

To this end, we use intuition and deduction.

By intuition, I do not mean the inconstant fruit of sensations

or of our imaginations, but the concept that flows

from a pure and attentive mind, so clear and distinct

that no doubt can remain about it.

For example, two and two are the same quantity as three and one,

in other words four.

As for deduction, this is everything that we do not accept

as necessarily true in the light of previous knowledge

obtained with absolute certainty.

All the other rules are born from these rules and above all

the fourth one that I deduce from the previous ones.

A method is necessary for the search for the truth,

a method that leads thoughts with order,

by proceeding from the objects that are the simplest and easiest to know,

and by gradually progressing to the more difficult ones.

After we have intuited a certain number of simple arrangements

we pass on to reflecting on their reciprocal relationships

if clear and distinct concepts result from them,

with a continuous movement of thought.

In this methodical search for the truth, we use the intellect,

imagination, the senses and the memory,

both to distinctly sense the simple prepositions,

and to correctly compare the researched things with ones already known.

I believe that all the things that may be within the reach

of the knowledge of man follow each other in the same way

as the long chains of simple and easy reasoning

geometricians usually use

to reach their most difficult demonstrations.

This, sirs, is some of the reasoning

by which I sustain the twenty one rules

that I have established for the correct use of the human mind

Excuse me sir,

as you were talking, I felt a great desire

to read your reasoning.

Tell me when you are going to publish it.

I cannot tell you when I'll publish it sirs,

those who know me, know well that

I am like a pilgrim , I love travelling in my thoughts

just as I love travelling across Europe

with the purpose of observing men and things,

to be able to better discover the infinite faces of the truth

and those of error.

Sir.

Yes, my dear Bretagne, what's going on this morning?

An excellent day, sir.

I see that you consumed many candles last night,

did you work late?

Sir, sir, it's almost midday.

Midday?

Yes, and there's already someone who's been waiting for you for more than an hour.

Oh, send him away.

He's certainly a barbarian if he comes to tire me at this time of day.

He's a merchant, he comes from Paris.

He says he has a letter for you from Father Mersenne, do you want me to send him away?

Don't talk nonsense.

Go, tell him I 'm getting dressed and will receive him straightaway.

Ah, tell the kitchen to prepare lunch for two.

- Yes. - And tell the kitchen I want it rich and succulent.

Very good sir.

He must be a really important guest if your boss

ordered buying the most expensive fruit in the market.

This way.

Come.

Do I really have to tell our Paris friends, that for the moment

you have no intention of returning to France?

Absolutely.

It's really incredible that you prefer to live in this city

of merchants and sailors,

instead of at Paris, which is the city of learned men.

Since I established myself here at Dordrecht, I haven't desired

to return to Paris even once

and to tell you the truth, I prefer this retreat.

I prefer it, not only for the silence of the convents

of the Carthusians and of the hermitages,

but also to the privacy of certain towns of France and Italy

to which one normally takes refuge in order to study in peace.

I n the towns many of the comforts are always missing

that are found in cities like these.

But Paris is a great city.

But I'm too well known ,

here instead there is no one, me excepted

who does not perform trade and everyone is so taken up

by his own interests that I could stay here all my life

without ever being disturbed by a sole.

There is a school of Latin letters and in this school,

apart from my only friend Beeckman, there is no one else

that I know of interested in the things that concern my mind.

I walk every morning in the middle of the confusion

of a great people with the same freedom and peace

that you can find in a country town,

and I look at the men I meet

as I would look at trees and animals in a forest.

The noise of their traffic does not succeed in interrupting

my fantasising any more than the babbling of a brook would.

And you who travel, can you tell me

any other country in the world in which you

can you en joy such complete liberty as in Holland.

But the climate? The winter here is very hard,

the humidity of the fog corrodes your bones.

It's enough to have a good stove,

and not to leave home if the weather's bad.

Ah, ah, ah, you are an unbeatable hardhead.

In two weeks you could pass by to collect my reply

to Father Mersenne's letter you brought to me,

I hoped you would give it to me straightaway.

No, the reply to Father Mersenne requires much reflection

and I cannot interrupt a new difficult study

I am performing on optics right now.

I will only return to Dordrecht at the end of my journey, in thirty days time.

I'll leave the folder for you with the tavern owner,

as in a month I will no longer be here.

And where will you be?

I still don't know yet.

I on the other hand am persuaded that you know very well,

but don't want to tell me.

It is said that when you write to friends in Paris,

you mysteriously date your letters, not from the place where you living,

but from other places, Amsterdam, Leida or any way

places in which it is certain you are not to be found in.

It is very difficult to find fruit as good as this in Paris,

here in Holland, an infinite amount arrives from the West Indies.

Are you certain it doesn't harm the intestines?

Absolutely, it is much less indigestible than the discourses of certain doctors.

Ah, ah, ah, ah.

I thank you , I thank you infinitely for sparing me from

your point of view hyperbole,

but at the same time, I regret that you also came to tell me

that you have decided to leave again.

You are as fidgety as no other man I have ever known,

tell me at least where you're going.

I'm going to Franeker.

So I'll lose you once again.

Ten years ago, when you left Breda, you promised me

that you wouldn't ever have left me without your news,

but instead you've been quiet for ten years.

And I waited in vain for your texts on mechanics and those

about algebra, and I'm still waiting because you haven't written them.

You're right to chide me.

Your mind was created suitable for mathematics

and I think you're doing a bad thing wasting your time

and talents in disciplines that don't suit you.

My mind is attracted by mathematics,

I've repeated that to you many times, I think,

only because it is executed, in my opinion , with procedures

capable of demonstrating metaphysical truths,

with greater evidence than that usually reached

using philosophical demonstrations.

It is precisely your certainty that seems excessive to me.

You think it possible to apply it to metaphysics...

It is possible. Have you read what I demonstrated in this sheet?

The rays, as you see, hit the lens in a parallel position,

the lens deviates them

and they converge perfectly at one point.

Everything appears clear, simple, evident.

And you would claim to bring the same clarity

and simplicity in philosophical demonstrations

using only mathematical procedures?

My dear friend, perhaps you are losing sight of the fact

that philosophy does not only

consider what material realities are,

but through the ways of reason it guides

man towards the contemplation of God.

Are you sure that mathematical procedures are suitable

by their own nature for approaching man's mind

to such a subtle reality as God is?

Dear Beeckman ,

I wrote this to Father Mersenne and I repeat it to you

and I will repeat it to all those who raise objections on this point.

I will never talk about theological things, never.

They depend on the truths revealed through the word of Jesus Christ

and his prophets, but as for questions of philosophy,

I say that these must all be examined by human reason.

It is through this path that I proved the foundations of physics

and through the same path - beyond the physical sciences -

I am firmly convinced that I can demonstrate

philosophical and metaphysical questions.

Now, as for the question you asked me,

if by their nature mathematical procedures are suitable by their nature

for approaching man's mind to the mystery of God,

I reply that everything created is His work

and that mathematical truths that depend on Him

are His work,

as is the rest of creation.

To say that these truths are uprooted and independent of Him,

would be like comparing God to a Jupiter or a Saturn,

it'd be like wanting to subject God to a reality external to him

and independent of him.

The clarity of mathematics, its rules,

come from God and are subjugate to him.

Why should we be afraid then for them to be used

by we men as an instrument to know all the truths.

As always, your arguments are exact and acute,

and I regret that your departure will deprive me in the future

of the consolation I derive from listening to them.

I'll write to you.

That I don't believe at all.

You know me little, dear Beeckman ,

the thought of your friendship

will always be of great comfort to me.

The blood of all living beings pulses in the veins

and is moved and pushed from all parts at the same time,

and so the veins all pulse at the same instant

because they all depend on the heart that moves them continuously

This is what Aristotle taught us,

who like all the ancients called veins,

what we today call arteries.

The heart is the cause of this movement.

The heart of an eel for example, once extracted

and placed on a table or on a hand clearly behaves like this,

and the same is true for the hearts of small fishes

and of all cold-blooded beings.

Even if in fish and in all cold-blooded beings,

such as snakes and the frog ,

the heart is paler when it moves,

it returns to its bright red colour during moments of stasis.

These observations, sirs, are not my own,

I can only say that I have confirmed them with my experience

as I have performed many vivisection operations and dissections on land and sea animals.

These observations were written for the first time in a book

the typographer Wilhelm Frietzer printed at Frankfurt

with the title ''De motu cordis et sanguinis in animalibus'',

written by a man that I repute to be among the greatest

men of science in the world, Sir William Harvey.

In 1628 he presented the unbiased and indomitable Charles,

King of Great Britain, with this book.

Harvey wrote:

The heart of living beings is the basis of life,

the lord of everything connected with life, the sun of the microcosm.

All vital acts depend on the heart,

energy and all vigour come from the heart,

in the same way in which the king is the basis of his realm

the sun of the state.

Blood succeeds in reaching the most extreme parts of the body

through the arteries and ever finer conduits,

and by entering the tissues it waters them

with vigour and makes them live.

The veins in their turn, collect and return it to the heart

and this determines a perennial circuit.

What you maintain is that blood is alive in the bodies of animals,

of fish and men without any external influence.

Do you deny the influence of the stars?

Certainly, certainly.

When we dissect the bodies and see life

pulsing inside an organism,

we are convinced that many doctrines sustained until our times

by the men of science preceding us, are pure fantasies.

Discovering nature's secrets imposes a long struggle on the scholar.

It is necessary to observe, calculate,

compare, for days and days and if this is not enough, for years and years.

It is necessary to humbly correct one's own mistakes

and if necessary to go back to the start, without any presumption.

The road to knowledge is terribly slow

and has nothing to do with the illusory excitement of fantasy.

Your words sir, are illuminated and too rarely

do we find this today among learned men.

They prefer to believe that the fables

written by the ancients about the nature of the world are infallible.

Do you share the doctor's doctrine then?

I agree with it, certainly.

I also have dissected fish

and many other animals and I too an convinced

that blood circulates in the way Dr Harvey

has taught and add that in my opinion,

blood is effervescent by its own nature

and that its continuous re-boiling in the heart

is the cause of the pulsing found

in all living bodies.

In this, sirs, I agree with Aristotle's doctrine.

The heart is a very hot vessel and this easily explains

the mechanism of cardiac motion.

It is hearth in which the matter and the principle of innate heat

are contained and conserved

from where it is transmitted to all the other organs.

On this point, I don't agree with you.

As Dr Harvey says, the movements of the heart

consist of very rapid beats

and of instantaneous stokes produced as by a muscle,

whilst this boiling process you talk of

has no relation to all this.

In a boiling process, as you know, you can only notice

a slow rising and a gradual descent

whilst on the contrary,

in the heart of whatever species of animal,

we have extremely rapid beats instead.

I still need to reflect on this point.

I hope that you will come every day here,

to this university to compare your reflections with ours.

I deeply regret that I cannot return here among you,

because I greatly appreciate your doctrine,

but in coming days I 'm going to Amsterdam,

to meet other learned men.

You do well sir, very well, and I envy you.

In our century it is no longer possible to acquire a doctrine

other than by visiting the universities and by comparing

the opinions of different learned men;

it is necessary, as Bacon wrote, to free ourselves

from the idols of false philosophy and to construct a new science.

On this point, we all agree sir.

I n the same year in which Cardinal Richelieu set siege to La Rochelle,

Wallenstein, set siege to Strapsunt in Germany at the mouth of the Oder.

Richelieu, won at Rochelle however,

and the Huguenots were defeated,

whilst Wallenstein was forced to abandon the siege and to retreat.

Yes that was a fatal year for him.

Yes, he had to bend before the Swedes and his child died.

His heir, the sole hope for continuing his line.

Three years ago, in 1630, I found myself at Ratisbona for trade

and precisely during those days, the Diet of the German nobility

requested and obtained the sacking of Wallenstein from the Emperor,

who had any way been one of his great fighters.

His troops were hated throughout all Germany.

Never had such arrogant and violent soldiers ever been seen. Ever.

And I remember that no one could be found

with the courage to take him the news

of his destitution, but once destitute,

they had to clamorously recall him when

after so many defeats there was no longer any one else

capable of leading the Catholic Imperial troops

against the army of Gustavo Adolfo of Sweden

who had reached as far as the Danube.

Wallenstein was able to stop Gustavo Adolfo

only because Gustavo Adolfo died on the battlefield.

This was the fortune of the Hapsburgs and of the Catholic League.

Didn't you return any longer to Bavaria?

Just once, to Munich, to sell a large batch of spices,

but since the struggle between the armies

of the Catholic princes against the Protestant princes started again,

I have preferred to send my agents.

The roads are not very safe and then there are entire regions

afflicted by famine and plague, every where,

from Augusta to Wurttemberg, from Turingia to the Palatinate.

One of my agents told me that he had seen wolf-packs

in Bohemia advancing right inside the cities.

It is incredible that such terrible wars are fought here in Europe

right when the world is becoming ever larger

and when there would be more space for everyone.

The West and East Indies regurgitate wealth

we could all profit from.

The fortune of we Dutch , is that the European princes

while warring among each other,

failed to notice that,

the East Indies Company and the West Indies Company

have brought us in the last thirty years

so much business and money that the safes of our banks

are much richer than those of the King of Spain.

The English have noticed this too.

Our fleet is much more powerful than their fleet

and our sailors are certainly much better.

Come, I want to present a friend to you who arrived yesterday from the East Indies.

They are the models of the ships my husband has constructed.

This is the Beatrice weighing one thousand tons,

one of the largest ships built in Holland

and carrying my daughter's name.

Ah.

This, instead is the second,

the Muyden, which now finds itself in the East Indies.

The ships slip between the sea and the fluid of the skies

following the curve of the terrestrial spheres.

Mr Descartes, I am certain that you would very much like an automaton

my husband bought from a Bohemian mechanic.

Certainly.

Sirs, do you already know my automaton.

Yes.

Sirs, would you like to come and see my automaton?

Ah.

See, Mr Descartes, it's almost magic.

It doesn't spill even one drop.

Everyone who has seen it says that such a perfect automaton

doesn't exist any where else in the world.

What do you say about it Mr Descartes?

Ah, I wouldn't dare to contradict you Madam.

It's a perfect mechanism.

By using weights, counterweights, levers, joints, gears,

wheels of different dimensions and tie-bars

it can impress even any movement on an inanimate material

by making it perform gestures similar

to those of men or animals.

But the bones and muscles of a man are a real machine.

The largest machine however, is the heavens.

Mr Descartes certainly agrees with me.

Astronomer Ciprus and Costantino Wigens.

Do you know each other?

- Yes, Yes, of course. - Oh Yes, we know each other.

You are right, the entire universe is a large machine.

Excuse me if I interrupted you,

but I wanted to advise Mr Descartes

that I am going to begin my new astronomical observations tomorrow.

Oh, you are very kind.

And you would do me a great honour in assisting me.

I will certainly do so, I thank you.

In fact, I'm very interested in the mechanics of the skies.

Observe.

This is a very delicate instrument and it can be moved

in any direction without any oscillation.

When the sun falls, I will begin my observations.

Gentlemen.

The telescope has revealed the movements of the skies.

As Bacon says, man is the minister and interpreter

of nature and he can understand it only by observing its

order through experience and intellect.

Man doesn't know better and couldn't know better.

Nothing , truly nothing.

And it is ignorance of the causes that removes from us knowledge of the effects

and impedes us from acting on nature according to its laws,

and this therefore prevents us from subjugating it.

This is also one of Bacon's thoughts

Because the only way to win over nature is by obeying her,

and when we ignore the causes our explanations

of natural phenomenon are born from our imagination

and God knows how false our fantasy is.

Every century has its fashions, but then fashions pass,

and the world remains always the same.

I admire you greatly astronomer Ciprus,

you are the most expert astronomer I know,

but if you permit me to say,

at the moment you are following a pernicious fashion,

incited by the madness of certain innovators

who I do not approve of at all.

Well, don't you think you're exaggerating a little?

I esteem your doctrine, but I cannot approve

when you expect to go and discover new planets in the skies

with your new instruments that we do not know to be

more or less false than the human eye,

and above all when you claim to add new planets

to the already existing ones without any prudence.

I cannot understand how discovering a new planet

could be an imprudence.

It's very serious imprudence,

because it is by acting like this that those such as yourself

have ruined astrology and have destroyed all its connections

with medicine.

They have added new stars to the patterns of the skies

without thinking of the consequences.

They have ruined the order of the Zodiac,

they have upset the known qualities of the fixed stars,

the calculation of the formation of the embryo,

the influence and the motives of the stars during the critical days,

and other innumerable truths that all depend,

on the septenary number of the planets.

In your opinion therefore, we should stop

all scientific progress just because it is irksome to some

to re-order their old manuals?

We should not be afraid of writing new treatises

new summae, new explanations of the structure of the world.

Otherwise we reach the paradox of Martin Forkey.

I've never heard this gentleman spoken of.

He is a presumptuous man because when through the telescope he saw

the real pattern of the skies he was disturbed

because what he saw didn't correspond to the patterns of the stars

he had studied in the manuals.

So, he then wrote to Keplero

that when the telescope is aimed at terrestrial things it performs wonders,

it enlarges objects and succeeds in discovery

everything that can be seen with the naked eye,

but when aimed at the sky it is useless.

I approve of Keplero's theories,

I have checked many of his observations

and have re-done many of his calculations.

If he hadn't died two years ago, I would have gone to find him at Lisbon,

where he had taken refuge due to the wars of religion,

to receive his approval.

The orbits of the planets are ellipses,

of which the sun occupies one of the two focuses.

When Keplero made his first calculations,

drawing on the observations of his master Tico Brahe,

he made just one error which he any way corrected:

he had taken ellipses for ovals.

Keplero's highly original idea was that of representing

the observations about the paths of the stars

as if they had been observed by watching them from the sun ,

rather than from the earth.

He calculated the revolution of Mars along its ellipsis around the sun ,

to be a full distance of six hundred and eighty seven days.

Resolving, revolutionising, means continuously returning

to the starting point.

At the end of each ellipsis in fact,

the planet returns to the identical place in the sky,

this place and the Sun's place are the two fixed points

he referred to in order to determine the position of the Earth.

With this kind of triangulation of the skies, Keplero

succeeded in calculating the path of all the other planets around the sun.

the speed and the distances between the planets

These studies are of extremely great importance.

For example, the Earth appears to us much larger

than all the other celestial bodies and the Moon and the Sun

appear to us to be larger than all the stars,

but if we correct the defect in our sight

by means of geometric reasoning ,

which is the only infallible reasoning,

we realise that the Moon is far away from us, let's say...

at around thirty times the diameter of the earth,

and the sun six or seven hundred diameters,

and by comparing these distances with the what is the apparent

diameter of the sun and the moon, we find that the moon

is smaller than the Earth and that the sun is much , much larger.

Have you too ever had the intention of adding

a few new planets to the already known ones?

I see that you too have let yourself become excited by the fashions of the innovators.

I am not an innovator.

I am simply trying to succeed in discovering the true

face of the universe with absolute certainty.

I hope that you have at least realised that the universe is immense

and that its true face is very far from you.

While waiting for dark, let's warm ourselves up again with some chocolate.

And now gentlemen, I'll show you something marvelous.

I will direct the telescope towards the Pleiades.

I 'm switching off the lamp.

There you are gentlemen.

Admire the Pleiades.

I have to admit that it works.

The wonders of the skies.

How vast the sky is.

Please do not move gentlemen.

Excuse us.

Have you finished your studies on meteors?

I've almost finished.

When are leaving for Dventer?

Tomorrow.

- Sir. - Excuse me.

Dr Gerolamus will be here in a minute with the letter

I asked you to deliver to Mr Reigne at Dventer.

Yes, I know him.

Dr Gerolamus is a great devourer of books,

I don't believe that any book exists in Amsterdam that he hasn't read.

A respectable man is not obliged to have read all the books,

there are many other things to do in life

and knowledge does not depend on what a man has read,

but also on what he has seen.

You are right.

Sir.

You too are right.

Ah, here's the theologian Gerolamus. Come forward doctor.

Mr Wigens told me notable things on your account.

I t seems that you have read all the books in this city.

No, not all, and this displeases me.

I have not been able however, to find any of your books.

I have written little.

My works are not yet diffuse.

I regret that, because I learned from Mr Wigens

your doctrines about the correct use of intelligence

and I find them very practical.

I appreciate Mr Reigne at Dventer very much.

And do you appreciate them sir?

Tell the truth to Mr Descartes, repeat to him what you told me.

I'm embarrassed.

I don't see why.

They seem to me to be the fruit of immeasurable arrogance.

It is as if you want to free human reason

from its dependence on its creator and on the Bible

to which you make absolutely no reference.

Many people have chided me for this, and yet I can assure you

sir, that I work in all humility, looking inside things,

because I believe things to be the creatures of God

and that they bring the sign of truth , whilst the wild fantasies

of the men from whom so many obscure doctrines are born

are the fruit of arrogance.

When I wrote my treatise on dioptrics,

I did not trust in fantasy,

I cut open and examined the eyes of animals

and with suitable authorisation, also those of dead men.

I observed for example that the optic nerve,

is comprised of a great number of small filaments

and that this is one of the material means for the formation

of the image whose nature remains any way

a mysterious gift of divine goodness.

It now seems to me that this research procedure

subjected to the sole control of reason,

that puts together simple data and precise deductions

is a humble work.

Dr Gerolamus certainly appreciates your defence.

I appreciate it greatly, sir, but I didn't wish to put you under accusation.

You certainly work humbly, but without wanting it

you tempt the arrogance of men

who find the reasons for limitless independence in your doctrine,

but I'm certain that you will give much consolation

to Mr Reigne and his pupils -

these persons will unfortunately hail you, given their excessive passion

for sciences which I will never fail to rebuke them for.

This is what I have written to Reigne.

As for your excessive love for knowledge,

I remind you of the words of our father Calvin

A man's desire to know the truth

is a spark of light, but this desire degenerates

into vanity because the human spirit is so obtuse and weak

that alone he cannot maintain the right road in the search for the truth

and that most often, he is incapable of discerning the object

he must apply himself to in order to find true knowledge.

Man's spirit with its impoverished integrity,

even though blessed with excellent gifts from God is too infirm,

as the scriptures say, to guide us on every occasion in our lives

if not helped at every instant,

by the light of divine grace.

I would be grateful to you, if you would take this letter

To Mr Reigne with my best regards and I assure you

that I esteem your passion for the truth,

which I also feel, but at the same time fear.

Bretaigne, it's late.

Can't you manage to get up even today.

Since you arrived, the fever has never left me.

My dear Elena I can't get up any more,

- I feel that I'll never get up ever again. - Ah, don't talk rubbish.

Those who experience bad, taste good all the better,

I'll go and wake your master.

There is never a day so long as not to arrive at the night.

Sir, the broth is there.

Your servant still has the fever, he can't move.

And you , get up, because it's the early bird

that catches the worm.

You're impertinent. What time is it?

After noon , time and the tide wait for no man.

Midday already.

Those who eat survive, those who fast die.

Good day.

He must be a famous doctor at Dventer, he's all anyone talks about,

when he goes by, he never looks anyone in the face

and the university students greet him with respect.

He may be famous as you say, but there is a proverb that says:

make a good reputation , and sleep soundly,

he certainly has some unusual habits, living closed in his room

which is the dirtiest and most disorderly one in the entire tavern.

For me order is bread and disorder famine.

Gentlemen, I have the pleasure of presenting Mr Rene Descartes to you.

He has come to study among us

and is a Frenchman who has honoured us coming to Dventer.

He has written about mechanics and geometry

about astronomy and mathematics

and has fixed precious rules for guiding intelligence.

Mr Descartes abhors the obscurity of scholastic philosophy,

as do many of us and on the other hand, does not like innovators,

those innovators who want to amaze the world with sophisticated doctrines,

because those persons, gentlemen, maintain that science is like a woman,

who if left alongside her spouse is always respected by everyone,

but if she gives herself to everyone, she is deprecated.

And for this reason , I invited Mr Descartes

to present to us what he intends to write in the treatise,

he has been working on for a long time now, and I ask you to listen to him.

I am thank the illustrious professors of this university and Mr Reigne

for inviting me, and I am pleased to illustrate to you what you want to know.

I intend to write in my treatise

everything that may explain the nature of material things.

I n order to explain my thoughts more freely

without being obliged to follow or disprove

the common opinions of the learned men of our time,

I have decided to leave aside the limited images of this world

in which we live and its architecture and to talk only

of what could happen in a new world that I will conceive

for my reader in an imaginary space.

I will lead my reader into this world by the hand, so far away

that he loses sight of everything God created

at the beginning of the centuries, five or six thousand years ago or thereabouts.

We will then finally halt at a determinate point in space

and suppose that God creates so much material around us again

that our imagination on whatever side it extends

absolutely cannot see one single place,

any space that has remained empty.

This material I talk of has nothing in common

with the so-called primary material of philosophers

which they have so well despoiled of forms and qualities

to the point that nothing has remained of it, but a vague conceptual abstraction,

very difficult to imagine - and seeing that we are going to take the liberty

of designing this material according to our imagination ,

we are also going to take the liberty of attributing a nature to it

in which there is nothing which could prevent anyone from knowing

it as perfectly as possible.

We shall then suppose that God divides this material into different parts,

some larger, others smaller, some with certain shapes,

others with different shapes, just as we care to imagine them,

but without ever determining any separation between them

so as to prevent a vacuum between them.

The difference that God will impose of these pieces of the nature

will consist in the different movement he sets on them

so that right from the first moment of creation

they can continue to move

according to the ordinary laws of nature.

What do you mean by nature?

When I talk of nature, I do not mean a goddess

or some other imaginary power,

I use this word to indicate matter itself,

in the form in which God keeps it

and in the form in which he has created it.

So, when the nature you've just said,

suffers changes to its parts,

you do not believe that this can be attributed to Divine action?

Everything depends on Divine action.

God has established laws that are absolutely perfect,

that even if we want to suppose that from the beginning

he created the most confused chaos that

all the poets together could imagine,

his laws are sufficient to direct all the parts of this chaos

in a way that they arrange themselves harmoniously in an exact order,

that will take the form of a perfect world

in which we can see not only the light,

but also everything that exists, of whatever nature

and form appearing in this true world in which we live.

In your imaginary world, are there going to be planets, a Sun?

Certainly.

And a Moon, an Earth, men.

Men born and comprised like us, with a soul and a body.

I will now separately describe the body of these men first,

and then I will describe the soul , and finally I will demonstrate

how these two natures must be joined together

to be able to give life to men identical to us.

I will suppose that the body is nothing but a statue,

an amount of earth that God forms expressly

making it look like and according to the pattern of our body.

And finally I will explain that when God places

the thinking soul inside this machine

the soul will have its main location in the brain,

from where to direct all of man's movements.

This, gentlemen, will be my story of the world.

One written , which Like all stories,

will - I hope -

be useful because it will permit a better understanding

of the world we live in.

I had warned you gentlemen, that this man is the only Archimedes

of our century, is the Atlas of the universe

is a confidant of nature and will answer

all the questions and queries you want to put to him,

about the secrets and the order of nature

in a wonderful and amazing manner.

How long can you stay here with us sir?

Until this evening and I will have time to answer all your questions.

Goodbye. Good night.

Ah you've finally come back,

he's been calling your name all day, the fever burns.

I'm very poorly, help me if you can.

Boil up a potion for him with a glass of wine,

a few grapes from Damascus, two grains of isoffo,

ten of fennel and of aniseed, until the liquid reduces by one third,

this is for the cough, the fever will disappear by itself.

Those three gentlemen are waiting for you, they're French.

I'll talk with them now.

Poor Bretaigne, what'll I do without him, stay close to him.

I'm Descartes, did you want me?

I'm a dealer in valuable furs sir, I'm called Antoine Poquet,

Father Mersenne asked me to call on you to collect

your new treatise that you had promised him to...

I haven't finished it sir, tell Father Mersenne...

Tell Father Mersenne that I'm working day and night on the new text,

and that on a coming occasion, before Christmas I hope, I'll send it to him.

Good bye Gentlemen

Oh good God!

Oh, no. Do you already want me to get up?

The hours of the morning are worth gold.

It's frightening.

I don't understand what are you looking for in the innards of animals?

You do know that making magic is forbidden?

It's a mortal sin.

I'm not making magic, don't worry.

What then?

You're always doing strange things, but remember that one sin attracts another.

Really, why did you take me into your service,

to drive me crazy with your mess?

I've never seen you so angry.

Turn round, I want to get up.

When pushed to the extreme, patience becomes fury.

This house is too small for you - you look like a crane in a pigeon loft,

you've filled everywhere with a thousand pieces of paper and strange instruments,

a man of your standing and in your condition

who lives like the lowest tramp, nobility can be little appreciated

without refinement.

You complain of what poor Bretaigne did.

Any way it's useless, he who talks sows and he who listens reaps.

Should reap.

I'm sorry that Bretaigne is dead, not to have him with me any more.

A stroke of the tongue is worse than a blow from a lance.

Bretaigne never got so angry as you do,

but you are certainly prettier...

I'm not angry at all, the moon never worries about a barking dog,

but Bretaigne was right to grumble at you

because in the end, talking about your troubles is already consolation.

Are you philosophising?

Philosophy? What is philosophy?

I am a philosopher, I love wisdom.

You? You are mad, I 'm wise.

Maybe.

We need a larger house, you're right there, Elena.

In that way you won't be troubled when I dedicate myself to certain works.

Good save our poor hens, when a sly old fox starts giving moral lessons.

No Elena, I'm talking seriously, we'll live at Amsterdam.

Once you've given your word, you can't take it back. Remember,

that he who promises has an obligation.

The wisest man yields. Do you forgive me?

Admiral Potterbacker and general Van Eyck,

two tulips that today are worth

four-thousand-four-hundred Florins each.

Really?

My lady succeeded in procuring an extremely precious bulb for herself,

its the ''Semper augustus'' - she paid five-thousand-five-hundred Florins

but it's the most beautiful tulip in the world,

she could re-sell it immediately for six thousand Florins or even more.

Your Lady is rich and those who have money, have courage.

Have you ever seen it bloom?

No, not yet, but in my Lady's colour album,

it's painted so well that it seems real.

The flower-cup is a beautiful pure white, slightly tinged with blue at the base,

with a strip of flame red that runs along each petal, a wonder.

I could never buy such patterns, they're too expensive for me.

If you hadn't shown them to me, I would know very little about tulips.

I'm telling you , even though I know it's completely useless,

that you don't want to risk even one Florin.

People with nothing like me cannot take risks.

You're losing a fortune by being too prudent.

Our farrier, Jacob Darik, remember him,

went up to his knees in debt to buy the general of generals.

If he did so, that means he's sure of good earnings, isn't that right?

And Mr Gut has sold his house for five rare bulbs

and he is someone who understands good deals.

Yes, but I'm a housewife.

And you know now, don't you, that painter Jan Van Goyen,

has himself paid in bulbs for his pictures

rather than in Florins?

My grandfather told me that his father,

just like everyone else at the time paid for purchases with herrings,

that really was a safe currency, because it fed people,

but this mania for tulips is really silly.

Oh, you are silly.

Everyone speculates in them, especially the great gentlemen who know what they're doing.

In fact, it's the king of France who makes the largest requests.

Oh, may God forgive me, I 'm late,

I've got to run away.

Thank you dear.

Oh listen up a little, how much could my red-yellow be worth today.

Be happy, a lot, no less than two-thousand-five-hundred Florins.

I'll go and open.

No, you've got dirty hands, I'll go and open.

It's true that you can't eat tulips, but their beauty

is very valuable today.

We all know that a good plumage makes a beautiful bird.

Who do you desire?

I'm Janmaire, the printer, Mr Descartes had me called.

Come in.

Your clothes have an unbearable odour.

They are the odours of my craft, aniline and the lead of the inks,

I'm very sorry, do you feel ill?

It's nothing.

Wait a minute.

- The printer. - Let him enter.

Come in.

Hello sir, I've come to give you my reply,

I agree, I will print your treatise.

I thank you, I hope to finish it in the next few days.

- Elena! - It's your odour, excuse me.

We need a little vinegar to get her back on her feet.

It's easier to advise than to act.

Jan, Jan.

- Sir. - Go and call Dr Plempius.

- Run. - Ok.

- I have examined the patient. - What did you find?

The patient is well , very well I'd say.

And so? How do you explain the fainting?

I don't know if you will judge the news to be good or bad,

but the patient has no illness.

I don't understand.

She's expecting a child.

- A child? - Yes, a child.

Elena.

You shouldn't be ashamed.

This is the most beautiful present you could've given me.

Don't be afraid.

I'll never abandon you.

After the damage the madman recovers his wits.

Rest.

Thank you.

Tranquility is born of sleep.

Come, come into my study.

I thank you for hurrying straightaway doctor,

and above all for telling me the good news that I'll be a father.

Jan, some wine.

A child, my good doctor, merits a good glass of wine.

Do me this honour.

- Do you acknowledge the child? - Certainly.

Even though I would like the thing to remain a secret, for the moment.

Not because of shame, but only because, as you know,

I fear everything that may disturb my tranquility.

Will you keep the mother with you?

I'll write to my friend Reigne at Dventer and I'll ask him

to find a discreet refuge,

so that Elena can wait all the months necessary, in peace.

If you need any care during these days, I'll be available.

I would only trust you.

I admire your ability as a doctor very much, even if I confess

I don't share your criticisms of Dr Harvey.

Why can't Dr Harvey be wrong?

Excuse me, but I really can't understand that with your knowledge

of human physiology, he has not convinced you

of the evidence of his doctrine.

Blood circulation driven by pulses

would lead to suppose that for every pulsation

the heart receives a drop of blood,

but considering that there are around two thousand pulses every hour,

in such a short period of time, a certainly incredible quantity of blood,

goes though the heart in this way.

The difficulty is truly insurmountable,

even though I have to admit that Harvey's hypothesis is interesting.

We'll discuss it again , however if the doctrine divides us,

friendship unites us.

- Cheers. - Cheers.

Mr Descartes.

Dear Descartes.

Illustrious friend.

I've come to return the treatise of Golius to you.

I'm always pleased to see you ,

you could have sent it with you servant, without disturbing yourself.

Walking by the streets of your country always pleases me.

You only meet people intent on their own work.

as if they were executing the most serious of duties in the presence of God.

Even the really rich,

who could live on income, often work all the same.

The Spanish, Italian and French nobles of the thirteenth century,

just three hundred years ago, were captains, land owners,

administrators and sometimes men of letters at the same time.

In effect, they didn't know how to do any of these things well,

and if they lived on income it's above all because they enjoyed

the work performed by the others, by the peasants, the craftsmen

the only ones at the time faithful to a profession out of need.

A century ago, the humanists.

knowledgeable in the tongues of the ancients, claimed to talk of everything,

from astronomy to architecture and to medicine,

not to mention then the scholastic philosophers,

ready to resolve any scientific problem,

with the principles of Aristotle, with the only

effect of exciting man's presumption.

Our people are far removed from all that.

Their book is the bible, their master is Calvin.

- Listen. - Calvin's heresy is unacceptable.

Listen to what he wrote one hundred years ago,

even if you believe him to be a heretic, and I assure you that you'll understand.

God commands everyone to follow his own vocation

though life's work.

But unfortunately, man, because his nature burns with restlessness

and often because of irresponsibility, ambition and greed

is led to lose his vocation

and to embrace different works that confuse him

and the madness of the world is born in this way.

Out of a fear that our rashness may drag us far from him

God permitted the collapse, the end of states,

of the customs, of the eras in past history,

and so that man does not get lost completely he has established

what everyone one must do for each of us.

Without even going to far beyond his own limits,

every man should live his own vocation

obedient to his nature,

remembering that he lives in the misery of sin

and that he can do nothing, without the aid of God.

It's true, they are wise words.

They educated a people.

I too follow my vocation faithfully.

But you burn with restlessness and you have a greed for knowledge,

that will lead you to embrace different works together.

There is absolutely no straying in my work.

All the parts of my new book that seem to deal with

different subjects are on the contrary tied together.

All philosophy is like a tree the roots of which

are metaphysics, the trunk is physics and the branches

all the other sciences that are reduced to three main principles,

or better, medicine, mechanics and moral philosophy,

I mean the highest and most perfect moral philosophy

which presupposes a perfect knowledge of the other sciences,

and the highest degree of wisdom.

When are you going to publish it?

Before Christmas.

You have an acute and clear mind, but I don't know how you'll fair

with the authorities of the Roman Church, if by bad luck they investigate you.

Your doctrines are a curious mixture.

I don't see why the Roman Church should investigate me,

what I write never invades the theological field.

Perhaps Galileo Galilei thought in the same way,

but he was mistaken , more or less on this point.

I'm sure that your treatise will not fail to attract the curiosity

of the Roman theologians, but you have nothing to fear.

Here, you are far from Rome.

The first three chapters.

I still have to make a few corrections.

I'll be the most important work of the century, equal to those of Bacon,

Copernicus or Galileo.

It'll be a work different to theirs because many of my hypotheses

are completely new, above all concerning

the structure of the universe.

Are you going to say anything about the movement of the skies?

I don't know yet.

I do however have an original hypothesis also on this subject.

The ancients always believed the earth

to be at the centre of the universe, Tolomeo taught this hypothesis,

but it was proved false after the observations

made in recent centuries by the astronomers.

Then Copernicus made an interesting hypothesis.

According to him, the Earth with its planets, rotate around the Sun.

The third of the hypotheses is by the Dutchman Brahe,

according to which around the immobile Earth,

the Moon and the Sun rotate and the

planets and comets rotate around the sun.

I shall promote my hypothesis of the movement of the Earth

with more shrewdness than Copernicus and with greater truth than Brahe.

I shall explain that the matter of the skies is fluid,

just like that comprising the Sun and the fixed stars,

that when the skies move, they transport all the bodies they contain with them.

The Earth is therefore surrounded like this on all sides,

by an extremely fluid sky in which it rests without any propensity to move,

it is carried in its sky like a vessel moved by the tides

of the seas, and because the other planets

are similar to the earth, we have reason to believe

that they also remain at rest

in the skies that contain them.

When will you give me the definitive manuscript?

Very soon I hope, I'm working day and night.

The wind is piercing today.

What good things are you preparing?

Sprouts and pork.

Ah, good, do you like them?

Yes, but ''rich cooking, poor testament''.

Dr. Ogelham, I'm always grateful for the hospitality,

but I would be even more grateful if you would read me this letter

written to me by Mr Descartes, I cannot read.

As you know, seeing and not understanding is like returning from hunting

with the meat bag empty.

Dear Elena, I congratulate you on the good health you are enjoying,

I pray to God that it'll remain with you until the end of your wait,

as for me, I'm thirty now, and thanks to God have no illness,

and I seem now to be further away from death

than I was in my youth.

You will be pleased to know that during these days I have concerned myself

with obtaining a pardon for the life of Joakin from the judges of this city,

the peasant who was unjustly accused of homicide.

I'm doing it to do a good deed, above all for his family.

A good conscience is a good pillow.

Among the teachings of Christ we should, above all practice

the rule of love which is the only sentiment

that can make man's journey happy on this earth.

I fear that I will not be able to come and visit you this month as I promised you

but be certain that I'm not forgetting you.

Words fly and children remain.

Do you want me to carry on?

Yes.

Let me have your news through Dr.Ogelham's courier,

who you shall thank on my behalf for the hospitality he's giving you.

Rene Descartes.

Who promises a lot and keeps his word a little.

Thank you Doctor.

When did it arrive?

This morning , sir.

It's Father Mersenne.

Jan, clothes.

I will publish everything.

I cannot renounce printing a treatise

I've worked on for so many years.

Any way, it was almost finished, I only had to correct and copy it,

but if Galileo, an Italian, esteemed by the Pope has been condemned,

I no longer feel like continuing.

But perhaps you exaggerate, you could publish it later.

In his letter, Father Mersenne was very clear and I think he is right.

But Holland is so far from Rome.

I have already said that I do not want to run the risk of contradicting,

or worrying the Church.

I'm almost tempted to burn all my papers.

I certainly will not show it to anyone.

All my work is so much connected with the hypothesis of the motion of the skies,

that it is impossible to correct it, even if I wanted to.

If that's how it is, I can't say you're wrong.

Wait.

Here, listen to what a disciple of our Galileo writes to me.

After a long and infinite insulting trial,

he has been relegated to the city of Siena

from which he cannot wander without permission.

His writings have all been outlawed because he held

the false doctrine taught by a few as true, that the sun is at the centre of the world

immobile and that the Earth moves with endless motion

and also for having taught the same doctrine

and for diffusing it with letters and writings.

After all , I never desired to write books.

If I hadn't given in to the insistence of a few friends of mine, I would never have written.

I'm not looking for spiritual peace and tranquility.

There are already so many opinions in philosophy,

apparently solid, that can be debated in disputes

and if mine are not much more solid than these,

and cannot be approved without controversy,

I will never accept to publish them.

You're a little too prudent.

Did you know that in France, there were people who defended Galileo?

I know. Even that good brother Mersenne is among these defenders,

but he too recommended me to be prudent.

I however, will never do what I must not do.

It's necessary to placate one's own excitation , desire.

I'll wait, because what seems impossible today,

may be possible tomorrow.

Francine, I baptise you in the name of the Father,

the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

The Father.

The witnesses.

Can I come back and live with you now?

Not yet, Elena, not yet.

So you don't want us.

Don't say that, the girl is very beautiful.

I'll write to you , I'll never abandon you.

Are you certain he has left Amsterdam?

His servant advised me that he would have arrived here

at Utrecht during the day.

Mr Descartes, has arrived.

Oh , here he is, let him enter.

Mr Rene Descartes has arrived.

Cartesius.

My very Dear Descartes, here you are, finally back at Utrecht.

Madam , I'm flattered by so much honour.

We were expecting you.

I was fifteen days at Amsterdam.

In this parlour, in which madam Annamaria de Schurman

often receives the most famous learned men of the Low Countries,

your absence was greatly felt.

In this way, you confuse me dear friend.

We were told that you are preparing the printing of a new work

at your printer's place of work.

We were very disappointed when you renounced

printing the treatise on the world out of fear...

You're wrong, it wasn't out of fear,

it was out of respect for authority and prudence.

Just prudence.

These friends have come to listen to you.

My new work takes up ideas and material from the treatise on the world.

Gentlemen , I've written the project of a universal science,

that can raise nature to its highest degree of perfection.

You're telling too little, my dear Rene, you had talked to me so much

about your progress in metaphysics.

Are you afraid to illustrate it?

Have you written a book on metaphysics?

Are you renouncing your mathematical method?

Don't worry, I intend to demonstrate the truths explained

until now by metaphysics using new ways.

It would be sterile to have thought up a method for the correct use of reason,

and not to employ it to demonstrate the foundations of the creation

of the spirit and of what surrounds it, beyond the theses

of scholars, without giving anything to their reasoning.

Here's one of my new arguments.

We all know that sometimes our senses trick us.

I suppose then nothing of what we see is as our senses

make us perceive, but if I doubt everything it is

immediately evident that I think and if I think, I must be an entity.

I think, therefore I exist.

This certainty of being , I take from myself.

I am a substance whose natural essence consists in thinking,

totally independent of any other material thing.

Well, what I'm referring to here is the soul,

by which I am what I am.

I then discovered, that none of the things that exist:

the Earth, the light, colour, appear superior to me,

more perfect than me, but who put the idea in me of a being

more perfect than myself?

I asked myself.

Certainly, a more perfect nature than mine,

is able to conceive the idea of perfection,

in other words of an absolutely perfect supernatural being

that I indicate with a single word: God.

In my treatise, I also demonstrate clearly,

the existence in myself and in the world of a thinking substance

distinct from that of the body, but which of the two is the nature of God?

I shall demonstrate that God, certainly cannot be

a composition of two substances - the bodily one and the thinking one

because the mixture would be a sign of imperfection.

Dear Rene.

You talk of the existence of the soul and of God in a really unusual way.

You moved me.

Your construction is very bold and highly acute.

However, your distinction of reality in bodily substance

and thinking substance will provoke many objections.

I'll answer everyone.

In the meantime you must publish my treatise as soon as possible,

I'll think about the objections afterwards.

Madam.

Come here, good girl.

I've put in bread, butter, cheese, candied fruit

and four pairs of tights I made for you.

A person that possesses a treasure without knowing it,

is much poorer than someone who doesn't have one.

When will you arrive at Leida?

In two days, I've got a good horse.

You stayed with us for too short a time.

I've got some duties to perform, I can't do otherwise.

A pot of gold doesn't mean a hearth.

You cannot understand.

I'm talking for your daughter, not for myself.

Elena, I hope that the day'll come when I can live with Francine

and you as a family, just like every other man does.

I pray to God every day for this.

Mr Descartes, your servant has prepared the horses.

You should come to Dventer more often.

I know. I thank you for what you're doing for Elena.

I'll come back soon.

She's a really beautiful creature, because she's perfect.

For me, it's like a miracle.

She's not a miracle, she's one of nature's perfect machines,

her eyes, the pupils...

I'm going.

May God bless you.

Wave goodbye to dad.

Wave, wave.

But you talked to me about a different title:

The project of a universal science.

At Paris and elsewhere scholastics are ready to accuse all novelty as heresy.

A good friar advised me to be prudent.

This time again it was your friend Father Mersenne.

He must be a very prudent man.

I'll begin to compose the reasoning on the method straightaway,

it'll be ready quickly, very quickly.

Tomorrow I'll bring you the dedication which you must print on the first three copies.

The first I shall address to the Prince of Orange,

the sovereign of this country, the second to Luigi XIII, king of France,

and the third to his prime minister, Cardinal Richelieu.

Gentlemen.

I thank you for coming.

I admire you greatly, my dear Rene.

Will you accompany me home at the end of the debate?

No, I can't madam , I must leave straightaway for Samport.

Are to going to find your daughter Francine?

Yes, I 'm going back to her.

Go, they're waiting for you.

There are numerous objections to your treatise.

Then tell me your objections, gentleman.

You have affirmed that you can be certain about one single point:

that of being a thing that thinks, but you still haven't told us

what this thing that thinks is for you.

You cannot say if the thing that thinks is an entity

which through different and secret movements produces that action

which we call thought

You say, I am a thing that thinks, I think, I am a thinking thing,

therefore I exist, therefore I am a spirit, a soul an intellect a reason.

In my opinion, the deduction is not exact,

it's as if you said, I'm a thinking thing, therefore I'm a thought.

Or, I'm intelligent, therefore I am an intellect.

It'd be like saying , I'm someone on a walk,

therefore I am a walk.

We cannot perceive any act without its subject.

A thought without a thing that thinks, science without a thing that knows

and a walk without a walker

and from this I seem to be able to reach that something thought of

is also a bodily thing.

You sustain that the idea of a sovereign being

cannot be born from itself,

but that it must have been infused in you and in all men from outside,

but do you really believe that this idea would ever have been born in your spirit

if you had spent all your live in a dessert

and not in the company of learned persons?

The Canadians, the Hurons and other savages do not have this idea inside them.

Your idea of God is no different by nature than the idea

of a number or of a line that you say is infinite.

We do not find a single word in your writings

concerning the immortality of the human soul

that I believe you shouldn't have overlooked demonstrating

to confound all those who are unworthy of immortality

because they deny it, perhaps because they fear it.

Mr Descartes, you have written a subtle logical work,

the perfect mechanics of reason, without ever referring to feelings

to passion, the heart of man, you have never cited the Bible,

and in writing of God, you have never revealed that his nature is a mystery,

from which the need for faith is born in us.

By its nature, faith is an impulse of the soul

that lives beyond reason and illuminates it.

With your writings however, you have demonstrated that there is nothing,

beyond reason capable of leading man to the truth.

Gentlemen, I have listened to your objections with great satisfaction,

because they have made me realise your kindness towards me

and your piety to God.

So, I can only be happy,

not only because you have judged my reasoning

worthy of your censure, but also because you do not object to anything

about it, that I cannot reply rather easily to.

Concerning the things that belong to the spirit

until today we have only had ideas.

Very confused ones and mixed up with the ideas that come to us from sensitive things.

This is the first and main reason that has impeded us from clearly

understanding everything we can about God and the soul

and I think it no small thing if I firstly show you

in which way it is necessary to distinguish the properties,

and qualities of the spirit, from those of the body

and how they can be recognised.

Gentlemen , this will be a considerable enterprise.

Have you got the drafts of the dedication?

Here they are.

Mr Descartes would never forgive us if we leave

Any printing errors in his new book:

''Le Meditationes de prima philosofia''.

Mr Descartes is very careful, even about spelling and commas.

But aren't you coming back to Paris for the end of the work.

No, I'm going to stay in the Low Countries still.

To the Deacon and Professors of the holy faculty of theology of Paris.

Mr Descartes is very prudent.

Certainly.

As a wise man knows how to be, but ever since I've known him,

he's always sincerely said and written everything he thinks.

He has written about geometry and mathematics, optics and physiology

to find a new way to philosophise

in which no reason is permitted that does not

possess absolute mathematical evidence.

This has been his research since childhood.

Gentlemen, however strong my reasoning may be,

I cannot hope that it will have a great effect on spirits

if you do not take it into your protection,

and I have no doubt that you will do me the honour of taking such good care

of this text, and to correct it first and foremost.

After this the reasons by which I prove that God exists

and that the human soul differs from the body

will be absolutely clear and evident

and then I hope that you will declare all this and testify this in public.

Truth will lead all men of culture and intelligence

to subscribe to your judgement.

When I say God, I mean an infinite substance

from which I and all other things have been created

and produced and I being a finite entity, could not have the notion of an infinite substance,

if such notion had not been inculcated in me

by a really infinite substance.

Mr Wigens has arrived.

Let him in.

Rene!

Costantino.

See?

Praise, objections, accusations.

It's success, but together with success, God has given me the greatest of pains.

My father died in France and no one told me

for fear of disturbing me, as my brother wrote to me,

and Francine is also dead.

The light of my eyes, who came to live

in this house together with Elena.

I lived a short time, too short a time with Francine.

Science has prevented me from living.

We all have our own vocations and must live them faithfully.

Everything we have comes from God and his bounty.

Yes.

I will certainly continue to live and to think

But now I will close my eyes and plug my ears,

I will switch off my senses.

I wish to cancel all images of bodily

things from my thoughts and to entertain myself,

only with myself and to live enclosed inside myself.

And perhaps, by searching inside myself, I will succeed in

slowly placating the pain and confusion of these days.

I shall prove to myself that a thing, a soul that thinks,

means that it doubts, affirms, denies and knows few things

and that is ignorant of many things, that loves, hates and wants,

wants no more, remembers, imagines and feels.

I shall try to extend my knowledge through pain,

I shall carefully consider if I can't still discover

some other thing that I haven't perceived until this moment inside me.

I have the certainty of being something that thinks,

but where does this certainty come from.