El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-08-09
Originates New Science
Although an Intense Sufferer, Des-
cartes Becomes the Greatest
of French Scientists.
By Madison c. PS3GER--

1
l-- By Madison c. PesGER
~ ENE DESCARTES was born at La
Hage, in Touraine, France, in
1886. He was a sickIy boy, trou-
bIed by headaches so violent at times
that he would scream and roll on the
floor in an agony OF suffering These
headaches were followed by vertigo
and nausea, accompanied by vomiting.
He could digest only the lightest food
He appeared like an animated skele-
ton, with sunken cheeks. prominent
bones and deepset black eyes, beneath
a shock of thick hair. Yet he was the
originator of the science of analytical
geometry.
Improving somewhat in health, he
enlisted under the cOlOrs of Prince
Maurice Of Nassau. for service in the
Netherlands He was in the service
two years when the Thirty ears
the duke Of Bavaria on the imperial
side and was present at the battle OF
the Prague. He stayed two years IN
the army, but was so weak that ar
times he could scarcely obey the orders
of his superiors-
Becomes a Wanderer
To improve his health, in 1921, he set
out to travel through France, Swift
erland and Italy He was a Wanderer
for seven years like Dante, and like
Dante, kept up his studies, delving
into mysterious realms of philOsOphic
lore Finally he settled in Amsterdam,
where he enjoyed not only the adTan-
tages of civilization, but the still
greater advantages Of freedom from
irritating controversy or prosecuting
assault. Here he lived in peace and Sc
clusion for 20 years, producing the Re
markable philosophical and mathemat-
zeal works upon which his fame rests,
All this time, though he was in III
health, he tOiled- on with grim peril
nacity, allotting to each day a certain
amount of labor which he vigorously
performed. Some mornings he arose at
4 o'clock and kept at his desk, uncOn-
sciOus of time, until his pen dropped
from sheer exhaustion at his tasks
Frequently he sat up whole nights at
his work Spells of weakness often
came over him and frequently he
tainted and tOppIed from his chair.
Becomes Famous Abroad.
Descartes' fame had gone to the out
side world and he was regarded as one
of the most learned men in Europe.
Unfortunately for himself, in 1919, he
gave way to the urgent solicitation OF
queen Christina of Sweden TO visit her
at Stockholm Reluctantly he acceded
to the reiterated invitation and went
to the Swedish capital, but the Scandl-
navian winter was too much for him
and he died of Inflammation Of the
lungs, February II, 1850
AbOlIShes Old Belief.
The fame of Descartes rests, not
merely upon his contributions to phi
lOsOphy, but also on his services to
physical science and mathematics. He
discarded the old method of explaining
physical phenomena by means of final
causes and insisted that everything
takes place mechanically.
He is one of the chief pioneers OF
the mechanical view of the world, and
fOrmulates clearly the fundamental
laws Of the mode to explain all phySiO-
logical processes. In mathematics he
made important contributions to the
theory OF equations BY showing that
the distances of each point in a plane
curve from two fixed lines followed a
law which could be algebraically eX-
pressed by an equation involving two
unknown quantities, he opened a new
world to geometry; in which groups of
curves, hitherto separately studied
were subjected to a uniform algebraic
process. and at the same time the idea
of law, by connecting it with that Of
equation
From this discovery followed, in half
a century, the tranScendental CalculaS
of Liebnitz and OF Newton.
Descartes in his early reasoning was
tOrmented with doubts and was con-
stantly seeking a method by which he
could attain Certainty At length he
made the discovery of his famous prin-
ciple of certainty which he expressed
in the proposition, "COEftO ergo sum-"