Chemical Library

EPISTOLA.

original: "Epistola" — A formal letter or dedication.

...t [me]; which indeed, at least in the judgment of the learned, though perhaps also of friends who are too kind—and let boasting be absent from these words—might seem [remarkable]. Many eyewitnesses to this matter exist in this city, the capital of the world Likely referring to Paris, where Borel lived and worked; it was a major center of the "Republic of Letters" in the 17th century., as do witnesses of my labor concerning the history of animals, plants, and minerals Natural History: The systematic study of the physical world, encompassing what we now call biology, botany, and geology., and other curious matters on almost everything knowable, which would be tedious to list here—not to mention my completed work on the life and teachings of Democritus Democritus (c. 460 – c. 370 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosopher who proposed that the universe is made of tiny, indivisible atoms.. In these works, sparing no effort, I have devoted myself to the reading of countless authors, so that I might be of use to humanity in penetrating the darkest veils of truth, and in drawing it out from that deepest well in which it lies hidden This is a reference to a famous maxim attributed to Democritus: "In reality we know nothing, for truth is in a well.". For as yet, men truly know nothing; the minds of even the more learned waver, and they continue learning until death, leaving behind even greater things unknown. But meanwhile, alas, countless falsehoods are taught in the schools A critique of the "Scholastic" method used in 17th-century universities, which relied heavily on traditional authorities like Aristotle rather than empirical observation., with which the minds of young men are so preoccupied—as if by a pestilential poison—that they eventually reject better things. It is, therefore, the duty of each individual to [contribute] something to...