PREFACE

the total absence of rays, if it is perfectly black, or their scarcity and almost continuous interruption; red is a medium between white and black, an alternating interruption of rays, and so on. You cannot read these ideas with a desire to learn without willingly siding with his opinion.

Furthermore, the hypothesis you will find explained more fully at the beginning of Book 7 of the Optics is also found in Proposition 24 of the Ballistics. Combined with that book, few things remain to be desired on this subject. However, it should be noted that the "swelling" of the sun does not seem strictly necessary; the phenomena of light could be explained by some motion of the solar body like trembling or sifting original: "cribrationis", referring to a rhythmic, sieve-like motion.. As long as the surrounding air or any body around the sun moves so that we perceive and feel light in the same way, and nothing is proposed against the laws of mechanics, what more could you want? Unless you say you are never satisfied until it is clear not just how illumination could happen, but how it actually happens. This is something a traveler original: "peregrinus". In this context, Mersenne refers to humans as temporary travelers on earth. can hardly hope for, but should instead expect in his true homeland original: "patria", referring to the divine knowledge expected in the afterlife..

Yet we should highly value those great men who strive to explain all natural phenomena through hypotheses, whether from Democritus and other ancients or their own. Among them stands out an Illustrious Man This likely refers to René Descartes, whose work Mersenne championed. Descartes’s "Principia Philosophiae" was published in 1644, the same year as this volume., whose Physics we expect daily; and the Dean of Digne Pierre Gassendi (1592 to 1655) was a priest and scientist known for reviving the ancient theory of atomism, which suggests the world is made of tiny, indivisible particles., whose philosophy, through its beautiful style, many new observations, and subtle reasoning, will captivate lovers of learning in admiration of such a man, so that hardly anyone will be left to reject atoms hereafter.

Regarding the art of Perspective, there is no need to desire anything more perfect than what we expect from Abraham Bosse. Through his etchings and engravings, he has wonderfully decorated various treatises on stone cutting, clocks, and other topics composed by Girard Desargues Desargues (1591 to 1661) was a mathematician and architect who founded projective geometry. Bosse was his primary illustrator and collaborator., so that the art of engraving seems to have reached its final perfection.

Add the Curious Perspective of the Reverend Father Niceron Jean-François Niceron (1613 to 1646) was a Minim friar and mathematician famous for his work on anamorphosis, or distorted images that appear normal when viewed from a specific angle., which he published concerning cylindrical mirrors that reveal hidden figures through various projections. He also wrote about transparent bodies and various triangular planes, or omphaloptra original: "omphaloptra". A type of lens, literally "navel-eyes," often referring to magnifying or faceted lenses that gather light from distant points., which collect distant objects from certain points (and scatter them from others), and other marvelous phenomena, to which he will soon add more.

XI. I know that certain parts are missing from this Mathematical Synopsis. For example, Gnomonics original: "Horologiographiam". The science of measuring time using the shadow of the sun on a dial. or Scioterics The study of shadows, specifically for calculating time or planetary positions., about which the aforementioned Abraham Bosse has recently written at length. Also, the Theory of the Planets, for which one should consult Kepler’s Epitome, the Sphere of Blancanus, and Aristarchus on the system...