ABSTRACT
In the Traité de physique, Rohault tempered any appearance of Cartesian metaphysical dogmatism by posing as an arbiter between the systems of Aristotle (384-322 B.C.E.) and Descartes. He cleverly attached Cartesian corpuscular-mechanical discourse to experimental illustrations and offered Cartesian explanations for various facts and procedures in the practical arts and crafts, about which he displayed impressive expertise. The Traité illustrates the shift to experimental legitimation of natural-philosophical claims typical of the mid-seventeenth century.
