The Young Descartes: Nobility, Rumor, and War
Intro -- Contents -- Preface -- Part 1. Mysteries: Remains of a Hidden Life -- Words on Paper -- In Search of a Person behind the Words -- Part 2. A France of Broken Families -- Families -- Politiques -- Breaking with His Father -- Aristocratic Paris -- Libertine Paris -- A Political Education -- Part 3. Gearing Up for War: Mathematical Inspirations -- Breda -- Military Engineering -- Meeting Isaac Beeckman -- The Holy Roman Empire -- Anxious Dreams -- Curious Meetings -- Part 4. War and Diplomacy in Europe -- Into Bohemia -- To Hungary and Disaster -- The Baltic and Return to The Netherlands -- Again in France -- Paris and the Rosicrucian Scare -- The Valtellina and Rome -- Part 5. The Struggle for France -- Problems with the Cardinal -- The Campaign for La Rochelle -- Confrontation and Departure -- The Meetings -- Confrontation and Conversation -- Becoming a Sectarian -- Feeling Threatened -- Exile -- Part 6. Not Yet Concluded -- Chronological Table -- List of Early Correspondence and Publications -- Acknowledgments -- For Further Reading -- Notes -- Index.