1、 第第 34 卷卷 法国和英国著名哲学家法国和英国著名哲学家 总目录总目录 百年哈佛 50 部经典 英文版 Harvard Classics 第 34 卷 法国和英国著名哲学家 2/456 第第 1 卷卷 富兰克林自传富兰克林自传 第第 2 卷卷 柏拉图对话录：辩解篇、菲多柏拉图对话录：辩解篇、菲多篇、克利多篇篇、克利多篇 第第 3 卷卷 培根论说文集及新阿特兰蒂斯培根论说文集及新阿特兰蒂斯 第第 4 卷卷 约翰米尔顿英文诗全集约翰米尔顿英文诗全集 第第 5 卷卷 爱默生文集爱默生文集 第第 6 卷卷 伯恩斯诗歌集伯恩斯诗歌集 第第 7 卷卷 圣奥古斯丁忏悔录圣奥古斯丁忏悔录 第第 8 卷卷
2、希腊戏剧希腊戏剧 第第 9 卷卷 论友谊、论老年及书信集论友谊、论老年及书信集 第第 10 卷卷 国富论国富论 第第 11 卷卷 物种起源论物种起源论 第第 12 卷卷 普卢塔克比较列传普卢塔克比较列传 第第 13 卷卷 伊尼亚德伊尼亚德 第第 14 卷卷 唐吉坷德唐吉坷德 第第 15 卷卷 天路历程天路历程 第第 16 卷卷 天方夜谭天方夜谭 百年哈佛 50 部经典 英文版 Harvard Classics 第 34 卷 法国和英国著名哲学家 3/456 第第 17 卷卷 民间传说与预言民间传说与预言 第第 18 卷卷 英国现代戏剧英国现代戏剧 第第 19 卷卷 浮士德浮士德 第第 20 卷
3、卷 神曲神曲 第第 21 卷卷 许婚的爱人许婚的爱人 第第 22 卷卷 奥德赛奥德赛 第第 23 卷卷 两年水手生涯两年水手生涯 第第 24 卷卷 伯克文集伯克文集 第第 25 卷卷 穆勒文集穆勒文集 第第 26 卷卷 欧洲大陆戏剧欧洲大陆戏剧 第第 27 卷卷 英国名家随笔英国名家随笔 第第 28 卷卷 英国与美国名家随笔英国与美国名家随笔 第第 29 卷卷 比格尔号上的旅行比格尔号上的旅行 第第 30 卷卷 科学论文集：物理学、化学、科学论文集：物理学、化学、天文学、地质学天文学、地质学 第第 31 卷卷 切利尼自传切利尼自传 第第 32 卷卷 文学和哲学名家随笔文学和哲学名家随笔 百年哈
4、佛 50 部经典 英文版 Harvard Classics 第 34 卷 法国和英国著名哲学家 4/456 第第33卷卷 古代与现代著名航海与旅行记古代与现代著名航海与旅行记 第第 34 卷卷 法国和英国著名哲学家法国和英国著名哲学家 第第 35 卷卷 见闻与传奇见闻与传奇 第第 36 卷卷 君王论君王论 第第 37 卷卷 17、18 世纪英国著名哲学家世纪英国著名哲学家 第第 38 卷卷 物理学、医学、外科学和地质物理学、医学、外科学和地质学学 第第 39 卷卷 著名之前言和序言著名之前言和序言 第第 40 卷卷 英文诗集（卷）从乔叟到格英文诗集（卷）从乔叟到格雷雷 第第 41 卷卷 英文诗
5、集（卷）从科林斯到英文诗集（卷）从科林斯到费兹杰拉德费兹杰拉德 第第 42 卷卷 英文诗集（卷）从丁尼生到英文诗集（卷）从丁尼生到惠特曼惠特曼 第第 43 卷卷 10001904 第第 44 卷卷 圣书圣书(卷一卷一):孔子孔子 希伯来书希伯来书 基基督圣经督圣经()第第 45 卷卷 圣书圣书(卷二卷二)基督圣经基督圣经()百年哈佛 50 部经典 英文版 Harvard Classics 第 34 卷 法国和英国著名哲学家 5/456 第第 46 卷卷 伊丽莎白时期戏剧（卷）伊丽莎白时期戏剧（卷）第第 47 卷卷 伊丽莎白时期戏剧（卷）伊丽莎白时期戏剧（卷）第第 48 卷卷 帕斯卡文集帕斯卡文
6、集 第第 49 卷卷 史诗与传说史诗与传说 第第 50 卷卷 哈佛经典讲座哈佛经典讲座 百年哈佛 50 部经典 英文版 Harvard Classics 第 34 卷 法国和英国著名哲学家 6/456 第第 34 卷卷 法国和英国著名哲学家法国和英国著名哲学家 INTRODUCTORY NOTE REN DESCARTES was born at La Haye in Touraine,March 31,1596.He came of a landed family with possessions in Brittany as well as in the south.His educati
7、on was begun at the Jesuit College of La Fl che,continued at Paris,and completed by travel in various countries;and his studies were varied by several years of military service.After he began to devote himself to philosophy,he lived chiefly in Holland;but the last five months of his life were spent
8、in Stockholm,at the court of Queen Christina of Sweden,where he died on February 11,1650.While still young,Descartes had become profoundly dissatisfied with the scholastic philosophy,which still survived in the teaching of the Jesuits from whom he received his early training;and adopting a skeptical
9、 attitude he set out on his travels determined“to gain knowledge only from himself and the great book of the world,from nature and the observation of man.”It was in Germany,as he tells us,that there came to him the idea which proved the starting point of his whole system of thought,the idea,“I think
10、,therefore I exist,”which called a halt to the philosophical doubt with which he had resolved to regard everything that could conceivably be doubted.On this basis he built up a philosophy which is usually regarded as the foundation of modern thought.Not that the system of Descartes is accepted to-da
11、y;but the sweeping away of presupposition of all kinds,and the“method”which he proposed for the discovery of truth,have made possible the whole modern philosophic development.It was in the“Discourse”here printed,originally published in 1637,that this method was first presented to the world.Descartes
12、 was distinguished in physics and mathematics as well as in philosophy;and his“Geometry”revolutionized the study of that science.百年哈佛 50 部经典 英文版 Harvard Classics 第 34 卷 法国和英国著名哲学家 7/456 PREFATORY NOTE BY THE AUTHOR.IF this Discourse appear too long to be read at once,it may be divided into six parts
13、:and,in the first,will be found various considerations touching the Sciences;in the second,the principal rules of the Method which the Author has discovered;in the third,certain of the rules of Morals which he has deduced from this Method;in the fourth,the reasonings by which he establishes the exis
14、tence of God and of the Human Soul,which are the foundations of his Metaphysic;in the fifth,the order of the Physical questions which he has investigated,and,in particular,the explication of the motion of the heart and of some other difficulties pertaining to Medicine,as also the difference between
15、the soul of man and that of the brutes;and,in the last,what the Author believes to be required in order to greater advancement in the investigation of Nature than has yet been made,with the reasons that have induced him to write.DISCOURSE ON THE METHOD OF RIGHTLY CONDUCTING THE REASON AND SEEKING TH
16、E TRUTH IN THE SCIENCES BY REN DESCARTES PART I GOOD SENSE is,of all things among men,the most equally distributed;for every one thinks himself so abundantly provided with it,that those even who are the most difficult to satisfy in everything else,do not usually desire a larger measure of this quali
17、ty than they already possess.And in this it is not likely that all are mistaken:the conviction is rather to be held as testifying that the power of judging aright and of distinguishing Truth from Error,which is properly what is called Good Sense or Reason,is by nature equal in all men;and that the d
18、iversity of our opinions,consequently,does not arise from some being endowed with a larger share of Reason than others,but solely from this,that we 百年哈佛 50 部经典 英文版 Harvard Classics 第 34 卷 法国和英国著名哲学家 8/456 conduct our thoughts along different ways,and do not fix our attention on the same objects.For
19、to be possessed of a vigorous mind is not enough;the prime requisite is rightly to apply it.The greatest minds,as they are capable of the highest excellencies,are open likewise to the greatest aberrations;and those who travel very slowly may yet make far greater progress,provided they keep always to
20、 the straight road,than those who,while they run,forsake it.For myself,I have never fancied my mind to be in any respect more perfect than those of the generality;on the contrary,I have often wished that I were equal to some others in promptitude of thought,or in clearness and distinctness of imagin
21、ation,or in fulness and readiness of memory.And besides these,I know of no other qualities that contribute to the perfection of the mind;for as to the Reason or Sense,inasmuch as it is that alone which constitutes us men,and distinguishes us from the brutes,I am disposed to believe that it is to be
22、found complete in each individual;and on this point to adopt the common opinion of philosophers,who say that the difference of greater and less holds only among the accidents,and not among the forms or natures of individuals of the same species.I will not hesitate,however,to avow my belief that it h
23、as been my singular good fortune to have very early in life fallen in with certain tracks which have conducted me to considerations and maxims,of which I have formed a Method that gives me the means,as I think,of gradually augmenting my knowledge,and of raising it by little and little to the highest
24、 point which the mediocrity of my talents and the brief duration of my life will permit me to reach.For I have already reaped from it such fruits that,although I have been accustomed to think lowly enough of myself,and although when I look with the eye of a philosopher at the varied courses and purs
25、uits of mankind at large,I find scarcely one which does not appear vain and useless,I nevertheless derive the highest 百年哈佛 50 部经典 英文版 Harvard Classics 第 34 卷 法国和英国著名哲学家 9/456 satisfaction from the progress I conceive myself to have already made in the search after truth,and cannot help entertaining
26、such expectations of the future as to believe that if,among the occupations of men as men,there is any one really excellent and important,it is that which I have chosen.After all,it is possible I may be mistaken;and it is but a little copper and glass,perhaps,that I take for gold and diamonds.I know
27、 how very liable we are to delusion in what relates to ourselves,and also how much the judgments of our friends are to be suspected when given in our favour.But I shall endeavour in this Discourse to describe the paths I have followed,and to delineate my life as in a picture,in order that each one m
28、ay be able to judge of them for himself,and that in the general opinion entertained of them,as gathered from current report,I myself may have a new help towards instruction to be added to those I have been in the habit of employing.My present design,then,is not to teach the Method which each ought t
29、o follow for the right conduct of his Reason,but solely to describe the way in which I have endeavoured to conduct my own.They who set themselves to give precepts must of course regard themselves as possessed of greater skill than those to whom they prescribe;and if they err in the slightest particu
30、lar,they subject themselves to censure.But as this Tract is put forth merely as a history,or,if you will,as a tale,in which,amid some examples worthy of imitation,there will be found,perhaps,as many more which it were advisable not to follow,I hope it will prove useful to some without being hurtful
31、to any,and that my openness will find some favour with all.From my childhood,I have been familiar with letters;and as I was given to believe that by their help a clear and certain knowledge of all that is useful in life might be acquired,I was ardently desirous of instruction.But as soon as I had fi
32、nished the entire course of study,at the close of 百年哈佛 50 部经典 英文版 Harvard Classics 第 34 卷 法国和英国著名哲学家 10/456 which it is customary to be admitted into the order of the learned,I completely changed my opinion.For I found myself involved in so many doubts and errors,that I was convinced I had advanced
33、no farther in all my attempts at learning,than the discovery at every turn of my own ignorance.And yet I was studying in one of the most celebrated Schools in Europe,in which I thought there must be learned men,if such were anywhere to be found.I had been taught all that others learned there;and not
34、 contented with the sciences actually taught us,I had,in addition,read all the books that had fallen into my hands,treating of such branches as are esteemed the most curious and rare.I knew the judgment which others had formed of me;and I did not find that I was considered inferior to my fellows,alt
35、hough there were among them some who were already marked out to fill the places of our instructors.And,in fine,our age appears to me as flourishing,and as fertile in powerful minds as any preceding one.I was thus led to take the liberty of judging of all other men by myself,and of concluding that th
36、ere was no science in existence that was of such a nature as I had previously been given to believe.I still continued,however,to hold in esteem the studies of the Schools.I was aware that the Languages taught in them are necessary to the understanding of the writings of the ancients;that the grace o
37、f Fable stirs the mind;that the memorable deeds of History elevate it;and,if read with discretion,aid in forming the judgment;that the perusal of all excellent books is,as it were,to interview with the noblest men of past ages,who have written them,and even a studied interview,in which are discovere
38、d to us only their choicest thoughts;that Eloquence has incomparable force and beauty;that Poesy has its ravishing graces and delights;that in the Mathematics there are many refined discoveries eminently suited to gratify the inquisitive,as well as further all the arts and lessen the labour of man;t
39、hat numerous highly useful precepts and exhortations to virtue are contained in treatises on Morals;that Theology points out the path to 百年哈佛 50 部经典 英文版 Harvard Classics 第 34 卷 法国和英国著名哲学家 11/456 heaven;that philosophy affords the means of discoursing with an appearance of truth on all matters,and co
40、mmands the admiration of the more simple;that Jurisprudence,Medicine,and the other Sciences,secure for their cultivators honours and riches;and in fine,that it is useful to bestow some attention upon all,even upon those abounding the most in superstition and error,that we may be in a position to det
41、ermine their real value,and guard against being deceived.But I believed that I had already given sufficient time to Languages,and likewise to the reading of the writings of the ancients,to their Histories and Fables.For to hold converse with those of other ages and to travel,are almost the same thin
42、g.It is useful to know something of the manners of different nations,that we may be enabled to form a more correct judgment regarding our own,and be prevented from thinking that everything contrary to our customs is ridiculous and irrational,a conclusion usually come to by those whose experience has
43、 been limited to their own country.On the other hand,when too much time is occupied in travelling,we become strangers to our native country;and the over curious in the customs of the past are generally ignorant of those of the present.Besides,fictitious narratives lead us to imagine the possibility
44、of many events that are impossible;and even the most faithful histories,if they do not wholly misrepresent matters,or exaggerate their importance to render the account of them more worthy of perusal,omit,at least,almost always the meanest and least striking of the attendant circumstances;hence it ha
45、ppens that the remainder does not represent the truth,and that such as regulate their conduct by examples drawn from this source,are apt to fall into the extravagances of the knight-errants of Romance,and to entertain projects that exceed their powers.I esteemed Eloquence highly,and was in raptures
46、with Poesy;but I thought that both were gifts of nature rather than fruits of study.Those in whom the faculty of Reason is predominant,and who most skilfully 百年哈佛 50 部经典 英文版 Harvard Classics 第 34 卷 法国和英国著名哲学家 12/456 dispose their thoughts with a view to render them clear and intelligible,are always
47、the best able to persuade others of the truth of what they lay down,though they should speak only in the language of Lower Brittany,and be wholly ignorant of the rules of Rhetoric;and those whose minds are stored with the most agreeable fancies,and who can give expression to them with the greatest e
48、mbellishment and harmony,are still the best poets,though unacquainted with the Art of Poetry.I was especially delighted with the Mathematics,on account of the certitude and evidence of their reasonings:but I had not as yet a precise knowledge of their true use;and thinking that they but contributed
49、to the advancement of the mechanical arts,I was astonished that foundations,so strong and solid,should have had no loftier superstructure reared on them.On the other hand,I compared the disquisitions of the ancient Moralists to very towering and magnificent palaces with no better foundation than san
50、d and mud:had laud the virtues very highly,and exhibit them as estimable far above anything on earth;but they give us no adequate criterion of virtue,and frequently that which they designate with so fine a name is but apathy,or pride,or despair,or parricide.I revered our Theology,and aspired as much
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