I did not imitate the sceptics who doubt only for doubting’s sake, and pretend to be always undecided; on the contrary, my whole intention was to arrive at a certainty, and to dig away the drift and the sand until I reached the rock or the clay beneath.
René Descartes (1596-1650) French philosopher, mathematician
“Discourse Touching the Method of Using One’s Reason Rightly and of Seeking Scientific Truth” (1870)
Alt. trans.: "I was not copying the sceptics, who doubt only for the sake of doubting and pretend to be always undecided; on the contrary, my whole aim was to reach certainty -- to cast aside the loose earth and sand so as to come upon rock or clay." [Cottingham, Stothoff and Murdoch (1988)]
I’m not sure what translation your quotation is from, but it’s probably Haldane and Ross. The Cottingham, Sttothoff and Murdoch translation is much the same (“Selected Philosophical Writings”, Oxford, 1988, p34): “I was not copying the sceptics, who doubt only for the sake of doubting and pretend to be always undecided; on the contrary, my whole aim was to reach certainty — to cast aside the loose earth and sand so as to come upon rock or clay.”
Great, thanks, Dave. I couldn’t find a quick confirmation about it being the Haldane & Ross translation, so I didn’t update that part.