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Primary sourceBookwritten 1629-1633, published 1664

The World

René Descartes · written 1629-1633, published 1664

Descartes' treatise on cosmology and physics, built on heliocentrism, which he suppressed in 1633 after hearing of Galileo's condemnation.

Descartes wrote this cosmological treatise and suppressed it out of fear after Galileo's condemnation.

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Title page of the 1664 Paris edition of Le Monde de Mr Descartes, ou le Traité de la Lumière, with a printed vignette of birds and flowers, a handwritten note at top, a red library stamp, and a Latin censorship-style line at the bottom.
René Descartes, Le Monde, ou le Traité de la Lumière, Paris, 1664.

About this source

What it is

The World (Traité du monde et de la lumière) is a book by René Descartes, written between 1629 and 1633. It lays out his mechanical philosophy of matter, motion and the cosmos, built on the heliocentric view first argued by Copernicus.

Why it matters

Descartes delayed releasing this book after the Roman Inquisition convicted Galileo of "suspicion of heresy." He discussed his fear and his decision not to publish in letters to the philosopher Marin Mersenne. Parts were eventually published separately and the whole text only appeared after his death. The book shows how the trial of one scientist could silence another, and how Descartes balanced bold new ideas about the universe against the risks of persecution.

Why it matters

Look closer

  • Why might Descartes have chosen caution over publishing his full theory?
  • What does the delay in publishing tell us about science and religious authority in the 1600s?
  • How does this book connect to Descartes' later, safer work, Principles of Philosophy?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Rene Descartes on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Title page of the 1637 first edition of Discours de la Methode, in old French printed type. Text reads Discours de la Methode, Pour bien conduire sa raison, & chercher la verite dans les sciences, plus La Dioptrique, Les Meteores, et La Geometrie, with a small woodcut emblem of a figure with a lantern in a laurel wreath, and imprint A Leyde, De l'Imprimerie de Ian Maire, 1637.Book

Primary source

Discourse on the Method

René Descartes · 1637

Title page of the 1641 Latin edition of Descartes' Meditationes de prima philosophia, printed in Paris by Michael Soly. Red and black type, with an engraved emblem of a phoenix rising from flames within a circle, and the date M.DC.XLI at the bottom.Book

Primary source

Meditations on First Philosophy

René Descartes · 1641

Title page of the 1637 first edition of Descartes' Discours de la Methode, in French. The text lists it with La Dioptrique, Les Meteores, and La Geometrie as essays of this method, printed at Leyde by Ian Maire. A small engraved vignette of a figure with a tree and landscape appears in the center.Document

Primary source

La Géométrie

René Descartes · 1637

Oil painting of a man with shoulder-length dark wavy hair, a thin mustache, and a white collar over a dark jacket, turning his head toward the viewer against a brown background, with one hand visible at the lower right.Painting

Primary source

Portrait of René Descartes

Frans Hals · 1649

Title page of a book reading 'Renati Des-Cartes Principia Philosophiae', with a Latin subtitle, an engraving of a winged figure and a robed figure beside a armillary sphere with banner 'Indefessus Agendo', an oval library stamp, and imprint 'Amstelodami, Ex Typographia Blaviana, MDCLXXXV'.Book

Primary source

Principles of Philosophy

René Descartes · 1644

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