Descartes Rene (1596-1650) Les Passions de L'Ame

Descartes, Rene (1596-1650) Les Passions de L'Ame . Paris: Le Gras, 1649. First edition, octavo, collated, complete, with final blank, bound in full crushed greenish blue morocco by Sangorski and Sutcliffe, front joint cracked, contents clean, 5 3/4 x 3 1/2 in. This work, on the passions of the soul, was written for Queen Christina of Sweden. Descartes believed that the soul, whose integrated function with the body originated in the brain, was the source of all human senses, thoughts, feelings, and willful acts. Such functions were more commonly attributed to other bodily organs in the 17th century.