Oeuvres de Desargues

The French mathematician and engineer Gérard Desargues (1591–1661) was one of the founders of projective geometry. Desargues' theorem is named in the honour of this prolific writer of treatises on geometry and its application to the arts and architecture. His important writings, which had been lost, were published in 1864 by the mathematician and scientific historian Noël-Germinal Poudra (1794–1894). Poudra's two-volume edition, republished here, reveals the major role played by Desargues in the scientific debates of the seventeenth century. It includes a biography of Desargues, in which Poudra discusses his role as architect, as well as his influence on famous scientists of his time including Pascal and Descartes. Volume 1 contains the majority of Desargues' treatises, including 'Perspective' (1636), followed by an analysis by Poudra, and the 'Traité des Coniques' (1639), with a lexicon of the scientific terms used.

Préface; Biographie de Desargues; Renseignements biographiques; Perspective de 1636; Traité des Coniques; Brouillon project; Coupe des pierres, perspective, gnomonique; Gnomonique; Gnomonique, manière de poser le style; Recueil de propositions diverses; Proposition fondamentale de la pratique de la perspective; Autre fondement, du fort et du faible; Fondement du compas optique; 1re proposition géométrique; 2e proposition géométrique; 3e proposition géométrique; Perspective adressée aux théoriciens; 1re reconnaissance de Desargues placée en tète de la coupe des pierres de Bosse 1643; 2e reconnaissance, placée en tète de la Gnomonique de Bosse; 3e reconnaissance, placée en tète de la Perspective de Bosse; Extraits de divers écrits et affiches.

The French mathematician Gérard Desargues (1591-1661) was one of the founders of projective geometry. His writings, published in two volumes in 1864 by Noël-Germinal Poudra (1794-1894), reveal Desargues' important role in the scientific debates of the seventeenth century. Volume 1 contains the majority of Desargues' treatises.