Copying the Classics · Meditations on First Philosophy
A sheet for copying Latin passages from Descartes' Meditations on First Philosophy
We chose short passages in the original Latin from Descartes' Meditations on First Philosophy, which asked from the very beginning "what can I know for certain?"
The cover tells who wrote it and when; each sheet carries the Latin original, a pronunciation guide, and the Korean meaning together.
One word is explained on its own, followed by a space to trace the faint Latin letters and lines for writing your thoughts.
How it works
- Read the cover first to learn what kind of book it is.
- Read the Latin original aloud following the pronunciation guide, and look at the Korean meaning below.
- Trace the faint letters, then write your own thoughts in answer to the question.
When · with whom
Good for reading and writing slowly, alone. Suits adults and teenagers who want to ask themselves what can be known for certain.
Copying the Classics · Meditations on First Philosophy
- Once in my life, everything must be overturned from the roots. / What thought would you like to set down once and examine again?
- Not agreeing with what is false: that lies within me. / What have you nodded along to too easily these days?
- Archimedes asked for only one point, one that was firm and unmoving. / What small fact holds you up right now and keeps you from falling apart?
- At least this much is certain: that nothing is certain. / Even without certainty, what is one thing you can hold on to today?
- But for how long? For just as long as I am thinking. / What thought made you most yourself today?
- I am, then, only a thing that thinks. / Take away the body — what is the rest of you made of?
- Everything has changed, yet the wax remains. / What of yours stays the same even when the outside changes?
- What this wax is, I grasp with the mind alone. / Is there something you recognized with your mind rather than your eyes?
- All trickery and deception depend on some defect. / What was missing from the words that tried to deceive you?
- I am, I exist. / What makes you feel that you are here, right now?