Lazare Meyssonnier (1602–1672) was a doctor and astrologer, and a professor at the University of Lyons. Here Descartes explains why the pineal gland or conarium should be the seat of the soul. Both terms come from the fact that the gland has the shape of a pine cone — ‘pineal’ picks up the pine, and ‘conarium’ picks up the cone.

The letter was written in French, and the translation is from Adam and Tannery, Volume III. Page numbers in square brackets refer to that edition.

Go to Index to the Correspondence with Meyssonnier