Epistola Renati
“Very rare” (Tchemerzine, II, 783).
First edition of the famous letter from Descartes to Voet, the rarest of the philosopher's works.
A very fine copy, preserved in its first reverse binding.
12mo, (6) ff., 282 pp., (2) blank ff. Contemporary reversed calf.
126 x 66 mm.
Descartes, René. Epistle of René Descartes to the very famous man Mr. Gisbertus Voetius.
Amsterdam, Louis Elzevier, 1643.
First edition of the famous letter from Descartes to Voet, the rarest of the philosopher's works.
Willems 998.
“Very rare” (Tchemerzine, II, 783).
The scarce first edition of this fundamental text for the history of philosophy and human thought, in which Descartes defends the autonomy of reason and doubt. Ad celeberrimum is Descartes’ offensive open letter, published in May 1643, a response to Gisbertus Voetius’ two earlier books attacking Descartes (Confraternitas Mariana, 1642; Admiranda Methodus, 1643), and a reaction to the condemnation of Cartesianism by the University of Utrecht, of which Voetius was Rector.
In the text, Descartes calls for criticism by reasoning and not by authority, argues for the primacy of education over learning, and for the importance and autonomy of reason (Hoon Woo, 2013). Scarce, WorldCat locates only 6 copies worldwide.
It was in 1642 that René Descartes, wishing to defend both his philosophy and Henricus Regius, his first Dutch disciple, wrote his Letter to R. P. Dinet.
The publication of this letter triggered a violent controversy in the Netherlands, especially in Utrecht. Gisbert Voet, Rector of Utrecht University, commissioned one of his students—Martin Schoock—to write a pamphlet against the author of the Discourse on Method: the Admiranda Methodus, accusing him of rejecting the traditional proofs of God's existence.
Upon immediately learning of this work—which attacked even his private life—Descartes responded with a Letter to Voet, a long 200-page polemical epistle, which is his most famous contribution to the Utrecht Controversy. In it, he vigorously defends his philosophy and argues for the autonomy of human reason and religious tolerance against the dogmatism of the Church.
“From early in his correspondence with Mersenne, Descartes expressed concern to avoid becoming embroiled in theological controversy or earning the enmity of church authorities. Aside from such prudential concerns, he strictly separated theological doctrines based in faith (e.g., the trinity) from his claims about God based solely in reason. [… ] Despite his precautions, he was drawn [… ] into theological controversy with Calvinist theologians in the Netherlands.” (Gary Hatfield, “René Descartes,” The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy).
Magnificent copy, very clean, preserved in its first turned leather binding.
