Chapter V: Book 1: De felicitate

” 2. De virtutibus.
” 3. De libertate, fortuna, etc.

(End of Vol. II. pp. 860.)

VOLUME III

1. Philosophiae Epicuri Syntagma.
2. Exercitationes paradoxicae adversus Aristoteleos.
3. Fluddanae philosophiae examen.
4. Disquisitio metaphysica adversus Cartesium.
5-9. Epistulae.

(End of Vol. III. pp. 662.)

VOLUME IV

Astronomica. Parts I.-V. pp. 536.

VOLUME V

1. Diogenis Laertii Liber X, cum nova interpretatione et notis.

2. Vita Epicuri, Peireskii, Tychonis Brahei, Copernici, Peurbachii, et Regiomontani.

3. Abacus sestertialis seu de valore antiquae monetae ad nostram redactae.

4. Romanum Calendarium compendiose expositum.

5. Manuductio ad theoriam musices.

6. Notitia ecclesiae Diniensis.

(End of Vol. V. pp. 740.)

VOLUME VI

Epistulae et responsa. pp. 545.

The whole of Gassendi’s writings is thus contained in six Volumes folio, with a total of 4095 double-columned pages.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

(I.) The edition of the works to which reference is always made in this book is the edition of 1658 (Lyon). This contains all Gassendi’s works (some slightly abridged), except some letters. On this point see Thomas, p. 28: ‘Celles qui ont été recueillies par M. de Montmor forment le sixième volume du _Syntagma_: mais leur nombre a été considerablement augmenté depuis, bien que beaucoup restent encore à publier. (Voy. “Documents inédits sur Gassendi,” par Tamizey de Larroque: _Revue des questions historiques_, 1877, t. xxii. “Oraison funèbre de P. Gassendi,” par Nicolas Taxil, publiée par le même, 1882. “Impressions de voyage de Pierre Gassendi,” dans le _Bulletin de la Société scientifique et littéraire des Basses-Alpes_, 1887.)’ I have no personal knowledge of these documents.

(II.) Bernier, the traveller, a friend of Gassendi, compiled an _Abrégé de la Philosophie de Gassendi_, 8 vols., 1678; 2nd ed., 7 vols., 1684. This work is naturally far less cumbersome than Gassendi’s own volumes. It is difficult to say quite what is wrong with it, but it is certainly wholly misleading, and, having been read to avoid the trouble of studying the original, has done much harm. I began with this work myself, but, after once looking into Gassendi, abandoned it. There is a wholly different atmosphere about Gassendi’s writing, and perhaps the kindest criticism is to say that Bernier had more zeal as a friend than ability as a philosopher.

(III.) The only book on Gassendi which I have read is _La Philosophie de Gassendi_, par P.-Félix Thomas, Paris, 1889. I have read this since completing my own account of Gassendi, and owe to it some useful hints and references. Had it been other than it is, I should not have been justified in publishing a second study on the same subject. But the author seems to me to have done less than justice to Gassendi: he does not seem to have considered him an integral part of philosophy as a moving body of thought. Perhaps he is right, but to me Gassendi appears to have done more than patch up Epicurus: he has tried to unite the results, not only of philosophy in the narrower sense, but of all previous and contemporary thought into one whole, as consistent as he thought it could be. Hence we differ; but the student of Gassendi will get more insight into Gassendi from Thomas than he will from Bernier, and find this the conscientious work of one who has gone for his information to the fountain-head.

(IV.) For the rest, I know of no other ‘literature of the subject.’ For the Life, Sorbière’s _Sketch_ (vol. I.) is the chief authority. There is also a _Vie de Gassendi_ by Bugerel (1737), and by Damiror (_Mémoire sur Gassendi_, 1839). The best short account of Gassendi’s philosophy is that of Ritter, to which I have referred elsewhere (p. 17).

(V.) The manuscripts of Gassendi have been preserved, the majority at Tours, some in the Bibliothèque Nationale, and some in Provence (Thomas, p. 28). The edition of 1658, though published after the author’s death, represents his final corrections, and is acknowledged to be substantially accurate.