  The precise place of Gassendi in the history of early modern philosophy and science is only partly articulated by recent scholarship, which has tended to focus on one aspect or another of his thought, and to portray Gassendi primarily as an opponent of one or another contemporary, to the neglect of his positive theses. The laudable goal of such contextualist studies is to demonstrate his key role in important debates of the era, yet the picture that emerges from deliberation on these commentaries is rather Gassendi's relative eclipse by other figures, notably Descartes. For example, one historical approach (Brundell, 1987) highlights a strong anti-Aristotelian strain which guides Gassendi's earlier criticisms of the Scholastics as well as his later Epicurean works.  From this perspective, Gassendi may be seen as fighting the same battles as Descartes, and losing in any such comparison because he engages his foes with generally lesser flash and apparently less sophisticated, or at least less novel, weaponry. Another common approach (Joy, 1987; Darmon, 1998; Mazauric, 1998; Taussig, 2001 and 2003) is to emphasize historicist and rhetorical elements of Gassendi's method, as employed in his conversations and correspondence with members of the Mersenne circle. Gassendi's role in that context was by no means marginal, and it is impossible to downplay the centrality of that circle in early modern scientific debate. Yet the most important figure to this group was not actually an active participant in it, and this was Descartes. Mersenne, of course, is the other core personality in this context, and so Gassendi by default is at best a third. Gassendi perhaps fares worst in comparison with Descartes in recent discussions of their direct conflict over the Meditations, where Gassendi's anti-Cartesian views are presented as a prism through which we may best perceive the spectrum of his views (Osler 1994, Lennon 1993, Grene and Ariew 1995). There is undoubtedly a case to be made that he represents the most prominent alternative to Descartes in his times. However, highlighting this story encourages the view that Gassendi deserves no more than footnote status and emphasizes, at least historically speaking, his role as the losing alternative.