Substituting Aristotle: Platonic Themes in Dutch Cartesianism

For a book on physiology, Descartes’ Trait é de l’Homme made an extraordinary impression on some of its readers. Nicholas Malebranche is reported to have suffered such mental and physical upheaval when he first read the book that he frequently had to put it aside. The Trait é de l’Homme was first published by Claude Clerselier (1614–1684) in Paris in 1664 as L’Homme. Two years before, however, De l’Homme had seen the light in a Latin edition at Leiden. This work, De Homine, was edited by Florentius (Florent, or Florens) Schuyl (1619–1669), a professor of philosophy at the Illustrious School of ’s Hertogenbosch. Schuyl not only translated Descartes’ French into Latin, but also added some marvellous drawings. De Homine considerably advanced his academic career. In 1664, Schuyl changed his humble position at ’s Hertogenbosch for a prestigious chair in medicine at the University of Leiden.