“In hypocausto morabar”: Descartes and his “Stove”

The paper refutes a well-known myth about Descartes’ staying inside a stove. The myth
originated from Descartes’ own old-fashioned expression ‘ie demeurois tout le iour enfermé seul dans vn poësle’. Based on this Descartes’ phrase, Russell stated that Descartes developed most of his philosophy while spending a day in a Bavarian stove (i.e.
‘poësle’). Gilson’s commentary is cited, in which he explains that, in Descartes’ times,
‘poësle’ could mean a room with a stove. A picture from Orbis sensualium pictus by
Comenius is included to demonstrate this type of room (poësle or hypocaustum, which is
the Latin for ‘poësle’). Some descriptions from Colloquia familiaria by Erasmus are presented which indicate that French poêle as well as Latin hypocaustum can mean a large
room that can accommodate dozens of people.