Man ir iracionāla patika pret Džona Obrija, Tomasa Hobsa drauga, darbiem. Piemēram, jau viņa darba 'The Natural History of Wiltshire' pirmais teikums atsauca atmiņā Pikvika kluba patosu: 'Till about the yeare 1649,* 'twas held a strange presumption for a man to attempt an innovation in learning; and not to be good manners to be more knowing than his neighbours and forefathers.'
* Experimentall Philosophy was then first cultivated by a club at Oxon.

Kopumā šis darbs ir jauka lasāmviela un aplūko tēmas, kas ir saistītas ar minēto Albionas apgabalu: sākot no ģeloģisku īpatnību apraksta, līdz pat dažādiem raganu un maģijas gadījumiem. Tādējāda lasītāja zināšanu horizonts paplašinās un kļūst lielāks nekā viņa senčiem.

Taču vislabāk viņš ir pazīstams pateicoties darbam, kas ir izdots pēc viņa nāves - "Brief Lives". Šis darbs ir jaunlaiku analogs Laērtas Diogēna sarakstītajam. Mani sajūsināja viņa ieraksts par Dekartu.



Rene Descartes (1596-165").
* Monsieur Renatus Des Cartes, ' nobilis Gallus, Perroni dominus, summus mathematicus et philosophus ; natus Hagae Turonum pridie Calendas Apriles, 1596; denatus Holmiae Calendis Februarii, 1650' —this inscription I find under his picture graved by C. V. Dalen. How he spent his time in his youth, and by what method he became so knowing, he tells the world in his treatise entituled Of Method. The Societie of Jesus glorie in that theyr order had the educating of him. He lived severall yeares at Egmont (neer the Hague), from whence he dated severall of his bookes. He was too wise a man to encomber himselfe with a wife ; but as he was a man, he had the desires and appetites of a man ; he therefore kept a good conditioned hansome woman that he liked, and by whom he had some children (I thinke 2 or 3). 'Tis pity but comeing from the braine " of such a father, they should be well cultivated. He was so eminently learned that all learned men made visits to him, and many of them would desire him to shew them his . . . of instruments (in thosedayes mathematical! learning lay much in the knowledge of instruments, and, as Sir H. S.'' sayd, in doeing of tricks ), he would drawe out a little drawer under his table, and shew them a paire of compasses with one of the legges broken ; and then, for his ruler, he used a sheet of paper folded double. This from Alexander Cowper (brother of Samuel), limner to Christina, queen of Sweden, who was familiarly acquainted there with Des Cartes. * Mr. Hobbes was wont to say that had Des Cartes kepc himselfe wholy to geometrie that he had been the best geometer in the world. He did very much admire him, but sayd that he could not pardon him for writing in the defence of transubstantiation which he knew to bee absolutely against his judgment '^—quod N. B.
Aubrey John. Brief Lives. Oxford 1898. p.221-222.


No šī ieraksta ir redzams, ka Dekarts ir bijis foršs čoms - gan smukas un labi noaugušas meitas spēja izmīlēt (tiesa, nobrīnījos, ka Obrijs neuzrāda vienu no Dekarta fetišiem - šķielaces), gan arī trikus spēja parādīt. Turklāt nevajag par maz novērtēt triku rādīšanu, jo tajā (un ne tikai) laikā tas, protams, bija labākais finansu piesaistīšanas veids. Diemžēl transubstantācijas jautājumus gan nespēja apmierinoši atrisināt. Iespējams, ka šī iemesla dēļ Dekarta popularitāte konservatīvās aprindās nebija tika liela, cik viņš būtu pelnījis pateicoties saviem trikiem ar instrumentiem.