Genesis of Mersenne's Harmonie universelle : the manuscript Livre de la nature des sons / Natacha Fabbri.
Abstract:
Mersenne's manuscript Livre de la nature des sons (Paris, Arsenal Library, ms. 2884) is contemporaneous with his draft of Traité de l'Harmonie universelle (1627), however its subject is more similar to Harmonie Universelle (1636-1637) than Traité. Its importance lies in providing a proof of coexistence, and not succession, of a metaphysical conception of harmony and a mechanistic approach to the science of sounds. Through examining Livre, comparing it to his later books of 1637 and considering the differences caused by the influence of contemporaneous philosophers and scientists such as Galilei and Descartes, this study aims to propose a more cohesive interpretation of Mersenne's works showing the connexion between his metaphysical, theological and mechanistic views.
Nuncius Vol. 22, fasc. 2 (2007), p. 287-308