Interesting article. I've been covering Descartes recently, and his writing style is extremely ornate and complicated. From Meditations on First Philosophy: "F

Interesting article. I've been covering Descartes recently, and his writing style is extremely ornate and complicated. From Meditations on First Philosophy: "For this reason I have no doubt that if you deign to take the trouble in the first place of correcting this work (for being conscious not only of my infirmity, but also of my ignorance, I should not dare to state that it was free from errors), and then, after adding to it these things that are lacking to it, completing those which are imperfect, and yourselves taking the trouble to give a more ample explanation of those things which have need of it, or at least making me aware of the defects so that I may apply myself to remedy them; when this is done and when finally the reasonings by which I prove that there is a God, and that the human soul differs from the body, shall be carried to that point of perspicuity to which I am sure they can be carried in order that they may be esteemed as perfectly exact demonstrations, if you deign to authorize your approbation and to render public testimony to their truth and certainty, I do not doubt, I say, that henceforward all the errors and false opinions which have ever existed regarding these two questions will soon be effaced from the minds of men." That's one sentence! The translation is from The Philosophical Works of Descartes, which was apparently translated from French, which was translated from Latin. So there could be some cause for this style in the translation work.