248 - René Descartes. *Les principes de la philosophie*. Paris, Le Gras, 1659. An important philosophical work by Descartes in French translation

René Descartes. *Les principes de la philosophie*. Paris, Le Gras, 1659. An important philosophical work by Descartes in French translation René Descartes. *Les principes de la philosophie*. Paris, Le Gras, 1659. Quarto (228 x 168 mm); [54], 477, [1] pages. Woodcut frieze on the title page, several woodcut vignettes in the text (sporadic stains, some leaves slightly browned, one blank page missing). Contemporary binding in brown leather, spine with 5 raised bands featuring gold decoration and title, polychrome spray-painted edges (upper compartment missing, some defects). The work systematically presents Descartes’ philosophical thought, ranging from the theory of knowledge to the principles of physics and the mechanistic explanation of nature. Cartesian philosophy, founded on reason and the search for certain principles, contributed profoundly to the transformation of European scientific and philosophical thought in the seventeenth century. An important philosophical work by Descartes in the French translation