The father Jesuit Ignace-Gaston Pardies (born the September 5th 1636 with Pau, died in Paris the April 22nd 1673) was a French physicist follower of the mechanism, though it was denied Cartesianism. Correspondent of Newton, it was one of the pioneers of the undulatory theory of the light, which it identified with a harmonic vibration.

Biography

Pardies was wire of an adviser at the Parliament of Pau. It entered to the Jésuites at the sixteen years age, and after having professed some time the humanities successfully, it applied to the study of philosophy, and embraced the principles of Descartes, without however acknowledging it for its Master. Looked by the still very-many partisans of the peripatetism like Cartesian disguised, it was defended some constantly, but without being able to convince them; it was obliged several times to justify the principles which it had advanced, by the only reason that they did not agree with those of the school. It was charged to profess mathematics with the Collège of Clermont in Paris.

Pardies was member of the academy of the abbot Bourdelot.

He formulated objections against the corpuscular theory of the light suggested by Newton, and imagined to compare the light to a wave affecting a motionless ether. He did not answer however the answers formulated by Newton in the acts of Royal Society.

In its Static , it showed that the theory of Galileo, according to whom a heavy wire assigns to balance a parabolic profile, is not exact.

He died in 1673, at the 37 years age, of a fever which he contracted while carrying the helps of the religion to the prisoners of Bicêtre. According to the Dictionary of universal biography, “the P. Pardies united with varied knowledge the happiest character and a solid piety”. It was in correspondence with several scientists, among whom it is enough to name Newton, which made a particular case of its lights.

Works

One has of him:

1. duplex Horologium thaumanticum (1662, in-4°), Paris. This opuscule contains the description of the sciatère, instrument invaluable to trace all kinds of dials, even on irregular surfaces. It published the French extract of it (1673, in-12°).
2. Dissertatio of motu and will natura cometarum (1663, in-12°), Bordeaux.
3. Speech of the local movement , Paris, 1670; rééd. 1673, in-12°. The author joined to the second edition some notes to draw aside the suspicion of Cartesianism.
4. Elements of geometry (1674), in-12°; reprinted several times. Clearness makes the principal merit of this work, which was translated into Latin by Schmitz, Iéna, 1683, in-12°, and per Joseph Serrurier, mathematics professor in Utrecht, 1711, in-12°.
5. Speech of the knowledge of the animals (1672), in-12°. It is, of all the works of Pardies, that which made the most noise during its publication. After having presented holes the reasoning of Cartesian to show that the animals are pure machines, the author refutes them so slightly that one had to look it like a defector.
6. Letter of a philosopher to Cartesian of his friends (1672), in-12°. The bottom of this work belongs to the P. Rochon, Jesuit of Bordeaux; but it is the P. Pardies which put it in a position to appear, so that it is allotted rather commonly to him. It is a refutation of some principles of Descartes.
7. Statics, or the Science of moving forces (1673, in-12°), libr. Séb. Mabre-Cramoisy, 239 p. + 2 pl. Cet work is the continuation of the Discours on the movement , and these two opuscules belonged to a complete treaty of mechanics, that the author did not have time to finish.

The majority of the works which one has just indicated were joined together under the title of “ Œuvres of the P. Pardies ”, Lyon, 1725, in-12°. The collection of its treaties of mathematics had already appeared in Latin, 1701, in-8°. It left in manuscript a “Treaty of the war” and a treaty of optics, as well as a Description of the celestial sphere , in Latin and French.

The celestial Atlas was published by the P. of Fontenay, Paris, 1674, in fol. max.: one sees there the roads of Comet S which had appeared until this time, and in a new pulling of these charts, about 1693, one added the comets which had appeared since the first edition. The atlas of Pardies had much success until the publication of that of John Flamsteed, which is incomparably higher (voy. the astronomical Library of Lalande, p. 282). There is still P. Pardies a French translation of the work of the P. Bartoli: Of the miracles of St-François-Xavier , Paris, 1672, in-12°, with a foreword on the faith due to the miracles, and one finds in the philosophical Transactions of 1672 and 1673 (n°84 and 85) his Remarks on the Newtonian theory of the light, with the answers of Newton. One can consult for more details, his praise in the Mémoires of Trévoux , April 1726, whose Nicéron gave an extract in the volume er of its Mémoires . The P. Pardies has an article extended enough in the Dictionnaire of Chaufepié.

References

• Reference: Old and modern universal biography: history alphabetically of the public life and private of all the men (Michaud), article " Pardies"
• Pierre Duhem - Origins of statics (vol. 1,1903; vol. 2,1906), ED. Hermann, Paris
• Paul Mouy - the development of Cartesian physics (1934), ED. Vrin, Paris

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