2002, ISBN: 2d25c23ea28ec63de66f713646afebdf

Amsterdam: Abraham Wolfgang, 1675. First edition. Hardcover. THE BEST EARLY ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE INTERNAL ANATOMY OF AN INSECT. First edition, very rare and a fine copy, of Swammerdam's … Meer...

Amsterdam: Abraham Wolfgang, 1675. First edition. Hardcover. THE BEST EARLY ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE INTERNAL ANATOMY OF AN INSECT. First edition, very rare and a fine copy, of Swammerdam's treatise on the life-cycle and anatomy of the mayfly, containing his first published descriptions and illustrations of the internal anatomy of an insect. "His Ephemeri Vita contains some very remarkable pieces of minute anatomy. The figures, drawn by himself, are the best early representations of the dissection of an insect" (Hagströmer Library, description of 1681 English translation). "In his last work, on the may-fly, Swammerdam gave the first complete account of metamorphosis ... much in his descriptions was not superseded before the nineteenth century ... on a visit to Paris he repeated before a meeting at Thévenot's house his dissection of the may-fly, and an offer was made to tempt him to Florence" (Hall, From Galileo to Newton, pp. 168-9). In 1669 Swammerdam had published his Historia insectorum generalis, which contained many beautiful illustrations of insects, but did not attempt to describe their minute anatomy. "A comparison of his investigations contained in Historia Insectorum Generalis (1669) and those that appeared in his next major published work, on the mayfly (Ephemeri Vita, 1675), shows that a series of fundamental changes had taken place in Swammerdam's science. Most importantly, he began to study the internal structures of insects using microscopy, dissection, and careful experimentation. Also, like Malpighi, he presented his vision to the world via some stunning drawings, in which the component anatomical parts are treated as separate, isolated, and often utterly strange objects, without reference to size or function ... Swammerdam was carrying out relatively crude dissections of large insects in the second half of the 1660s ... However, prior to 1669 he never put the two skills together" (Cobb, p. 124). No copy listed on ABPC/RBH. "Despite a scientific career that lasted only a dozen years, Swammerdam (1637-80) was one of the outstanding comparative anatomists of the seventeenth century. His most remarkable work was in the field of insect anatomy, which he undertook in order to disprove still-current Aristotelian notions (which he opposed upon religious grounds) that insects lack internal anatomy, develop by metamorphosis (sudden and complete transformation) and arise from spontaneous generation. By refining his techniques of micro-dissection and injection to the point where he could use them on the smallest and most delicate anatomical parts, Swammerdam was able to illustrate for the first time the complex internal structures of insects, including their reproductive organs; and to demonstrate the gradual development of an insect's adult form throughout all its larval stages. These observations are 'indubitably the foundation of our modern knowledge of the structure, metamorphosis and classification of insects' (Cole, p. 285)" (Norman). "Passing over the first work on insects (1669), which deals only with external morphology and metamorphosis, ... we come to the more relevant monograph on the may-fly, first published in Dutch in 1675 ... The biology of the Ephemeri Vita ... shows us Swammerdam at his best. He started work on the may-fly as early as 1667, and mentions dissecting the nymphs in 1670, and making notes on the metamorphosis in 1671 ... the anatomy of the small nymph is described from beautiful dissections, and in this respect Swammerdam is clearly superior to Malpighi ... In addition to the anatomy of the species the astonishing life-cycle, in which a momentary adult existence closes, with the savage ruthlessness of Nature, a prolonged and active larval life, is laid bare for the first time" (Cole, pp. 278-9). "Swammerdam was one among the many who marveled over imaginings of minute anatomies, but when he wrote the Historia he still emphasized not the prospect but the apparent hopelessness of ever actually observing one. The disposition of the limbs, muscles, veins, and nerves in the anatomy of the larger animals was astonishing enough, he wrote, but to find the same in animals whose whole bodies were smaller than the point of one's knife was stupefying. In fact, Swammerdam had yet to face so small an anatomy and really did not expect to. Since we lack the eye and the hand for even the slightest dissection of these parts, he continued more realistically, that inner form will remain beyond our reach. "Although the interest in comparative anatomy had prompted Swammerdam to turn to insect dissections, those efforts had as yet produced no significant initiatives with the microscope and showed little prospect of doing so. Moreover, ... there is little in the Historia to suggest that Swammerdam as yet even contemplated a general, systematic program of insect dissection with or without the aid of a lens ... "The Historia insectorum generalis was in press when Swammerdam in 1669 received a copy of Malpighi's Dissertatio epistolica de bombyce, published that same year by the Royal Society. In that remarkable work, Malpighi joined a study of the life history of the silkworm to an account and illustration of the anatomy of both the moth and the caterpillar. Swammerdam was deeply impressed. He was also driven to repeat and, if possible, surpass Malpighi's dissections. "The attempt to duplicate those dissections proved a profoundly educational experience for Swammerdam. Malpighi himself later stressed the great difficulty and wearisomeness of the undertaking, for it was completely new, he wrote, and the anatomical parts so small, fragile, and intertwined as to demand their own special method of dissection; it was so exhausting that after several months his eyes became inflamed and he succumbed to fevers. Swammerdam likewise described it as the most trying kind of dissection. Indeed, at first it seemed hopeless, he confessed, for he was ignorant of Malpighi's method; but in time and through chance he discovered a method of his own. "The silkworm was only the beginning, however, and as Swammerdam tried his newly acquired techniques on other insects his skills developed rapidly. He dissected the nymph of the mayfly in 1670 with great finesse ... He would later stress the "ingenious inventions" - presumably new techniques - he had to devise and the variety of aids to which he was forced to turn, among them being necessarily now the microscope (of which Malpighi, however, had made little mention in his own De Bombyce). Swammerdam now dissected directly below a lens, and even the lancets and styluses he used - though a fine pair of scissors was his key instrument - were so small that he sharpened them under the lens as well. The more delicate and difficult parts of an insect's anatomy he removed from the body and placed on a small, sometimes coloured, piece of glass "as thin as can be blown at the lamp." The bit of insect anatomy having dried on the fragment of glass, it was pasted to a bit of cork and the cork stuck on a needle's point, there to be observed more closely with the microscope" (Ruestow, The Microscope in the Dutch Republic: The Shaping of Discovery, pp. 111-113). "Swammerdam conceived the study of nature as an exploration and confirmation of God's glory, and thus as a kind of divine worship. However, his investigations were also a time-consuming occupation, which prevented the giving of due attention to traditional forms of worship. Over the years Swammerdam came to feel that, by indulging in scientific research, he was neglecting his vital duties as a Christian. In the preface to Ephemeri Vita, dated 12 July 1675, he wrote, "I have now spent enough time and labour in the investigation of Nature and have followed my own depraved will and pleasure therein. Wherefore I now intend to follow solely God's will, to surrender my will to Him, and withdraw all my thoughts from the multiple things so as to offer them to heavenly reflections only." "Swammerdam was obviously trapped in a crisis, struggling with conflicting desires. In the end this resulted in a decision to renounce scientific research and to join the religious community of Antoinette Bourignon. This decision was supported by his feeling that his investigations "have already served me as a ladder to climb up to Him, and one does no longer need the means once the goal has been reached. For, if one continues to wish to use the means, they become nothing but impediments." "However, from the circumstances that delayed his departure to Bourignon's side it is clear that Swammerdam's mind was still inclined to science. He first saw his treatise on the mayfly, entitled Ephemeri Vita, through the press. This book is a perfect reflection of his state of mind at the time. It is a mixture of a superb study of the life and anatomy of the mayfly, of lamentations on the futility of human life, of prayers and of digressions into theological questions" (Fournier, p. 4). Swammerdam stated that his principal object in laying his book before the public was "to give us wretched mortals a lively image of the shortness of human life, and thereby induce us, by frequent admonitions, to aspire to a better state of being". The letter in which Bourignon gives permission to publish is printed in the book: it begins as follows: "I have received your letter of the 4th of this year, in which letter you ask my advice again on the publication of the treatise on a small animal, which lives only one day and has to suffer much during this time. Which appears to me to be the image of a human, who lives no longer than a day, if compared to eternity. During this time he has however to suffer various kinds of miseries so that a thousand animals are not as miserable as a human, subjected to the elements, plagued by all kinds of animals which bite or kill. And if this publication could contribute to the education of the salvation of our fellow men, I would be of the opinion that you should publish it, as the last of your brilliant works, so that you can devote yourself to more serious pursuits, pursuits which relate to eternity, in the future." "Before he left Amsterdam Swammerdam also went through the notes of his researches and destroyed some of these, among them his notes on the anatomy of the silkworm. However, most of his notes were still extant when he resumed his scientific activities about a year later, and he took care that his drawings of the silkworm's interior parts were sent to Malpighi, so that the results of his work would not be lost. "During his stay in Bourignon's community the conflict between science and religion was to some extent resolved in Swammerdam's mind. Upon his return to Amsterdam, he devoted all his time to editing his notes, which he elaborated and completed and which were supplemented with a series of newly initiated investigations" (Fournier, pp. 4-5). After two years of intense effort and new research, Swammerdam's manuscripts, written in Dutch, were ready for the press, but the Latin translation he considered necessary had yet to be made. He entrusted the manuscripts to a Leiden translator, but soon afterwards he contracted a fever and died on 17 February 1680. There the matter rested for almost half a century, until in 1727 the great Dutch physician Herman Boerhaave (1668-1738) acquired the manuscripts and eventually published them in two large volumes as Bybel der Natuure (1737-8). The anatomical section of the present work is included in the Bybel. The Ephemeri vita was translated into English in 1681 under the title Ephemeri vita: or the Natural History and Anatomy of the Ephemeron, A Fly that Lives but Five Hours, and edited by Edward Tyson, famous for his work on "the missing link", entitled Orang-Outang, sive homo Sylvestris: or the Anatomy of a Pygmie compared with that of a Monkey, an Ape and a man (1699). This translation is also rare (three copies listed on ABPC/RBH). Cobb, 'Malpighi, Swammerdam and the Colourful Silkworm: Replication and Visual Representation in Early Modern Science,' Annals of Science 59 (2002), 111-147; Cole, A History of Comparative Anatomy, 278-285; Fournier, 'The Book of Nature: Jan Swammerdam's Microscopical Investigations,' Tractrix 2 (1990), 1-24; Norman 2036 (for the English translation of 1681, this edition not in Norman); Singer, Short History of Biology, 160-2; Waller 11967. 8vo (156 x 97 mm), pp. [xxxii], 422, [8], with eight engraved plates (two folding). Contemporary vellum. A very fine and clean copy., Abraham Wolfgang, 1675, 0, London, Murray/Tegg, 1829-1842. In-24 gr. (mm. 145x93), 81 volumi, bella legatura d'amatore in p. vitellino coevo, cornice dorata ai piatti, dorso a cordoni con ricca decoraz. e tit. oro su due tasselli, dentelles dorate ai risg., tagli marmorizz.; ogni volume di ca. 300/400 pp. Offriamo una raccolta di "tutto il pubblicato" di questa nota Collana inglese, iniziata da Murray nel 1829 e continuata da Tegg a partire dal 1835 fino al 1847 - completa in 80 volumi - numerati “1/80”. La nostra è accresciuta persino di un volume: il n. “30” figura sia come facente parte dell’opera in 3 volumi di Lander ("Journal of an Expedition to.. the Niger..", Murray,1833) con i nn.” 28-29-30”, sia come opera singola (Launcelot Langstaff "Salmagundi".., Tegg, 1839). La Collana, illustrata da tavole incise su acciaio, rame, legno, e relativa ad opere di storia, viaggi, biografie, letteratura ed arte, è qui completa in tutte le sue parti, anche dal punto di vista iconografico. Di seguito diamo l’elenco dei titoli, numerosi in prima edizione: - (1-2) (LOCKHART), "The History of Napoleon Buonaparte", condensed from "The life of Napoleon" by Scott, and illustrated by Gerge Cruikshank. New edition (1829), in 2 volumi, con 15 tavv. f.t. - (3) WILLIAMS J., "The life and actions of Alexander the Great". Second edition (1829), con 2 cartine f.t. più volte ripieg. - (4-10-13-19-27-38), CUNNINGHAM A. "The Lives of the most eminent British Painters, Sculptors, and Architects", Second edition (1830-33), in 6 volumi, con 42 tavv. di ritratti f.t.- (5-6-9) (MILMAN H.H), "The History of the Jews". Second edition (1830-33), in 3 volumi, con 4 cartine geografiche ripieg. e 2 piantine f.t., e con un albero genealogico e figg. nel t.- (7-51) "The Natural History of Insects". Second edition (1830-35), in 2 volumi, con numer. figg. inc. su legno nel t. - (8) "The Court and Camp of Buonaparte" (1829), con 3 tavv. di ritratti e una tavola genealogica ripieg. f.t. (1a ediz.). - (11) IRVING W., "The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus" (abridged by the same) (1830), con 1 cartina geografica più volte ripieg., 1 che raffigura parte del globo terrestre e 2 tavv. di ritratti, f.t. (1a ediz.) - (12) SOUTHEY R., "The Life of Nelson" (1830), con figg. nel t. inc. su legno. (1a ediz.)- (14) (MACMICHAEL W.), "Lives of British Physicians" (1830), con 4 tavv. di ritratti f.t. (1a ediz.)- (15-48-49-50) GLEIG G.R., "The History of the British Empire in India" (1830-35), in 4 volumi, con 1 cartina geografica più volte ripieg., 4 tavv. di ritratti e 5 di vedute f.t. (1a ediz.). Al ns. esempl. mancano le pp. III-VI del vol. II, qui in fotocopia.- (16) SCOTT W., "Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft" addressed to G. Lockhart (1830), con 1 tav. f.t. (1a ediz.). Il ns. esempl. è privo delle 12 tavv. di Cruikshank, pubblicate separatamente.- (17) Major HEAD F.B., "The Life of Bruce the African Traveller" (1830), con 1 ritratto di James Bruce, 1 mappa dei suoi viaggi ed 1 cartina geografica (più volte ripieg.) dell’Abissinia, Mar Rosso, Nubia ed Egitto (1a ediz.)- (18) IRVING W., "Voyages and Discoveries of the Companions of Columbus" (1831), con 1 cartina geografica più volte ripieg., e 2 tavv. di vedute f.t. (1a ediz.)- (20-32) (SMEDLEY E.), "Sketches from Venetian History" (1831-32), in 2 volumi, con figg. nel t. e 11 tavv. f.t. di cui 1 pianta della città a volo di uccello e 2 cartine geografiche ripieg. (1a ediz.)- (21) PALGRAVE F., "History of England", Vol. I: Anglo-Saxon Period (1831), con numer. figg. inc. su legno nel t. e 4 cartine geografiche ripieg. (1a ediz.)- (22-34-37) FRASER TYTLER P., "Lives of Scottish Worthies" (1831-33), in 3 volumi, con 7 tavv. f.t. di cui 3 di sigilli e 4 vedute. (1a ediz.) - (23) (BARROW J.), "A Family Tour through South Holland; up the Rhine; and across the Netherlands to Ostend" (1831), con 1 cartina geografica ripieg. e 10 tavv. di vedute f.t. (1a ediz.)- (24) BREWSTER D., "The Life of Sir Isaac Newton" (1831), con alc. figg. nel t. e 1 ritratto di Newton f.t. (1a ediz.)- (25) (BARROW J.), "The Eventful History of the Mutiny and Piratical Seizure of H.M.S. Bounty: its cause and consequence" (1831), con antiporta e 5 tavv. f.t. da disegni orig. del Lieut-Colonel Batty (1a ediz.)- (26) BLUNT I.J., "Sketch of the Reformation in England" (1832). (1a ediz.)- (28-29-30) LANDER R. and J., "Journal of an Expedition to explore the Course and Termination of the Niger; with a Narrative of a Voyage down that River to its termination" (1833), in 3 volumi, con 2 cartine geografiche di cui 1 più volte ripieg. e 7 tavv. di vedute e ritratti f.t. (2a ediz.) - (30) LAUNCELOT LANGSTAFF, "Salmagundi": or the Whim-Whams and opinions of Launcelot Langstaff, Esq. and others (Tegg, 1839). New edition, corrected and revised by the Author, con vignette inc. su legno nel t., incluso il frontespizio.- (31) (DODD C.E.), "The Trials of Charles the First", and of some of the regicides: with Biographies of Bradshaw, Ireton, Harrison, and others, with Notes (Murray/Tegg, 1839). Third edition revised, con ritratto di Charles I e con 2 tavv. ripieg. f.t.- (33) BREWSTER D., "Letters on Natural Magic" addressed to Sir Walter Scott (1833), con numerosiss. figg. inc. su legno nel t. (incluse 2 con parti movibili, a p. 119 e 121). (2a ediz.)- (35) (BARROW John (Sir), "A memoir of the Life of Peter the Great" (1832), con un ritratto dello Zar. (1a ediz.)- (36) COLERIDGE H.N., "Six Months in the West Indies, in 1825". Third edition (1832), con 1 cartina geografica dei Caraibi, ripieg. - (39-40) IRVING W. (pseudonimo Geoffrey Crayon), "The Sketch-Book of Geoffrey Crayon" (1834-35), a new edition, in 2 volumi, con 2 tavv. (1 a ciascun frontesp.)- (41-42-43-44-45-46) TYTLER A. Fraser (Lord Woodhouselee), "Universal History", from the Creation of the World to the beginning of the Eighteenth Century (1834-35), in 6 volumi (1a ediz. tranne i volumi 5 e 6)- (47) (CROKER, Crofton T.), "Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland" (1834), con numer. figg. nel t. inc. su legno. (la 1a ediz. in 3 volumi è del 1825-28)- (52) DE FOE D., "A Journal of the Plague Year" or Memorials of the Great Pestilence in London, in 1665 (Tegg, 1835). A new edition revised by Wedlake., con 4 tavv. f.t. - (53-54) EDMONDS C.R., "The Life and Times of General Washington" (Tegg, 1836-38), Second edition, in 2 volumi, con 2 ritratti del Generale e 2 fac-simili, più volte ripieg., f.t.- (55) KNICKERBOCKER D. (Irving W.), "A History of New-York" from the beginning of the World to the end of the Dutch Dynasty (Tegg, 1836), con 4 tavv. di Cruiksbank. (2a ediz.)- (56-57-58) WESLEY J., "A compendium of Natural Philosophy", being a Survey of the Wisdom of God in the Creation (Tegg, 1836). A new ed. revised, in 3 volumi, con 3 tavv. (1 a ciasc. frontespizio). - (59-60) DE SEGUR P., "History of the Expedition to Russia" undertaken by the Emperor Napoleon, in the year 1812 (Tegg, 1836). Seventh ed. revised, in 2 volumi, con 1 cartina geografica più volte ripieg. e 2 tavv. di ritratti f.t. - (61) DAVENPORT R.A., "The Life of Ali Pasha, of Tepeleni, Vizier of Epirus", surnamed Aslan, or the Lion (Tegg, 1837), con un ritratto di Ali Pasha. (1a ediz.)- (62) MAC FARLANE C., "The Lives and Exploits of Banditti and Robbers" in all parts of the world (Tegg, 1837), con antiporta e 3 tavv. f.t. (1a ediz.)- (63) DAVENPORT R.A., "Sketches of Imposture, Deception, and Credulity" (Tegg, 1837), con alc. figg. nel t. e un ritratto di Giovanna d'Arco f.t. (1a ediz.) - (64) DAVENPORT R.A., "The History of the Bastille" and of its principal Captives (Tegg, 1838), con 1 tav. f.t. (1a ediz.)- (65) HOLLINGS J.F., "The Life of Gustavus Adolphus", surnamed the Great, King of Sweden (Tegg, 1838), con un ritratto del Re Gustavo, f.t. (1a ediz.)- (66) (THOMSON R.), "Chronicles of London Bridge" (Tegg, 1839). Second edition, con numerosiss. figure inc. su legno nel t., anche a p. pag.- (67) BUCKE C., "The Life of John, Duke of Marlborough" (Tegg, 1839), con un ritratto del Duca. (1a ediz.)- (68) ROSCOE T., "The Life and Writings of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra", with Literary and Historical Illustrations (Tegg, 1839), con un ritratto di Cervantes f.t. (1a ediz.)- (69) HOLLINGS J.F., "The Life of Marcus Tullius Cicero" (Tegg, 1839), con un ritratto di Cicerone f.t. (1a ediz.)- (70-71) BUCKE C., "Ruins of Ancient Cities", with General and Particular Accounts of their Rise, Fall, and Present Condition (Tegg, 1840), in 2 volumi, con 8 tavv. di vedute f.t. (1a ediz.)- (72) AYTOUN W.E., "The Life and Times of Richard the First, Surnamed Coeur-de-Lion, King of England" (Tegg, 1840), con un ritratto del Re d'Inghilterra, f.t. (1a ediz.)- (73) GREEN S., "The Life of Mahomet", Founder of the Religion of Islam, and of the Empire of the Saracens; with notices of the History of Islamism and of Arabia (Tegg, 1840), con 1 tav. f.t. (1a ediz.)- (74-75) DAVENPORT R.A., "Narratives of Peril and Suffering" (Tegg, 1840), in 2 volumi, con 2 tavv. di ritratti (1 a ciasc. frontespizio). (1a ediz.)- (76-77-78) CHETWODE E.J., "A Classical Tour through Italy" (Tegg, 1841). Seventh edition with an additional preface, and translations of the various quotations from ancient and modern authors, in 3 volumi, con 1 cartina geografica più volte ripieg. e figg. inc. su legno nel t.- (79) DAVENPORT R.A., "Lives of Individuals" who raised themselves from Poverty to Eminence or Fortune (Tegg, 1841), con un ritratto f.t. (1a ediz.)- (80) (NEALE W.J.), "History of the Mutiny at Spithead and the Nore, with an enquiry into its origin and treatment" (Tegg, 1842), rileg. in mz. pelle coeva con ang., dorso a cordoni con tit. oro, con ritratto f.t. (1a ediz.).Raccolta molto ben conservata., Murray/Tegg, 1829-1842., 0, Amsterdam: Etienne Ledet et Compagnie, 1738. First edition. Hardcover. VOLTAIRE ON NEWTON - LARGE AND THICK PAPER COPY. First edition, first issue, extremely rare large and thick paper copy, and in a beautiful contemporary binding, of Voltaire's only scientific work. "Owing to Descartes' great influence and Newton's dispute with Leibnitz, the spread of his [Newton's] thought on the continent took about fifty years. One of his greatest champions in France was Voltaire (1694-1778), whose Éléments de la Philosophie de Neuton, 1738, was widely read" (PMM). Voltaire "presented Newton as the discoverer of the true system of the world and the destroyer of the errors of Cartesianism" (Norman). "Popularisations are normally the most ephemeral of works: having served their purpose they are forgotten, while the masterpieces about which they were written continue to be admired even though they may long have ceased to be read by any but enquiring scholars. Voltaire's Éléments, however, is a rare exception to the general rule, being the popularisation of the work of genius by a man of genius. It is of interest, therefore, not only in itself but for what it tells us of Voltaire in relation to Newton (1643-1727), as an abiding memorial to the central role that Newton played in the development of Voltaire's philosophical thinking. Voltaire's Éléments was one of a small number of published works which contributed significantly to the acceptance and adoption of Newtonian theory in France" (Walters & Barber, p. 3). The work is dedicated to Voltaire's mistress, the Marquise du Châtelet, who provided the first French translation of Newton's Principia. Two issues of this first edition are known, printed for the publishers Etienne Ledet and Jacques Desbordes, of which the Ledet issue is generally accepted to be the first. ABPC/RBH list only two large paper copies in the last 80 years. One of these was the Norman copy (Christie's, 15 June 1998, lot 843, $5520), the second (Desbordes) issue, in a later binding and described as being 'large and thick paper' in the Norman library catalogue, although it only measured 215 x 132 mm, compared to 227x137 mm for the present copy. Voltaire's first committed interest in science in general, and in Newton in particular, dates from his increasingly close relations with the English aristocrat, freethinker, and Jacobite Lord Bolingbroke (1678-1751) and his circle from the end of 1722 onwards. Bolingbroke left London for voluntary exile in France in 1715, where he spent the next ten years. Bolingbroke encouraged Voltaire to become a frequent visitor to La Source, the Englishman's estate near Orléans. Influencing him towards an admiration of the Newtonian system and encouraging him to read Locke, Voltaire's contact with Bolingbroke and his circle ensured that when he crossed the channel in 1726, and began the intellectually most formative period of his life, he had already become oriented towards contemporary English thought, to which the Newtonian system as presented in the Principia and the Opticks had made so decisive a contribution. In London Voltaire met the prominent Newtonian Samuel Clarke (1675-1729), and seems to have regarded himself for a time as Clarke's disciple. He also came into contact with John Conduitt (1688-1737) and his wife Catherine Barton (1679-1729), Newton's niece, as well as the astronomer Samuel Molyneux (1689-1728), who may have introduced Voltaire to his pupil Robert Smith (1689-1768), whose Compleat System of Opticks (1738) Voltaire went to some trouble to obtain. Voltaire's first dated reference to Newton occurs in a letter of 27 May 1727, in which he recommends his life-long friend Nicolas-Claude Thiriot (1697-1772) to translate Henry Pemberton's A View of Sir Isaac Newton's Philosophy (1728). Voltaire was impressed by Pemberton's exposition of Newton's thoughts, which managed to convey a faithful impression of Newton's work in optics and gravitation without going into mathematical detail. Its style and approach were in sharp contrast to the writings of Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle (1657-1757) and other French popularisers of science of the day, with their emphasis on elegance and wit, often at the expense of scientific accuracy. The extent of Voltaire's Newtonian education at this time is indicated by his Lettres écrites de Londres sur les Anglois et autres sujets, in which he discussed his views on the institutions, religion, philosophy, and people of England. In letter XIV, 'Sur Descartes et Newton,' while praising the overthrow of Aristotelianism by Descartes the philosopher, Voltaire makes plain his preference for Newton's theory of attraction over the vortex theory of Descartes the physicist. Letter XV, 'Sur le systeme d'attraction,' proves how careful Voltaire's study of this system had been, indeed a comparison of this letter with the relevant parts of the Éléments shows that Newtonian attraction was a topic on which Voltaire thereafter felt little or no need to deepen his understanding. The situation was very different as regards the Opticks, however, on which letter XVI, 'Sur l'optique de M. Newton,' has very little to say. Much hard study of this aspect of Newton's work was needed before Voltaire was in a position to compose the optical chapters of his Éléments. Voltaire spent the first few years after returning to France in 1729 to poetry and playwriting, but in May 1733 he met the brilliant and vivacious Gabrielle Émilie Le Tonnelier de Breteuil, Marquise du Châtelet (1706-49); their relationship was to have a profound influence on the development of Voltaire's scientific ideas. Appreciating Émilie's interest in mathematics and natural philosophy, early in 1734 Voltaire introduced her to Pierre-Louis Moreau de Maupertuis (1698-1759), the most knowledgeable Newtonian in Paris; Maupertuis soon began to give Émilie lessons in science and mathematics. She sought to understand the nascent science of mechanics through the philosophy of Newton, Descartes, Leibniz, and Wolff, and in the process she participated in the debate between Cartesians and Newtonians. When Voltaire's Lettres were published in France in 1735, the book was condemned, torn and burned. Voltaire had to leave Paris hurriedly; Émilie offered him a refuge in her husband's Château de Cirey, located near the border with Champagne and Lorraine, which was an independent province at the time, making it an ideal sanctuary for Voltaire. A few months later, Émilie joined Voltaire at Cirey, where they lived for four years, dedicating much of their effort to studying and debating physical and metaphysical issues. She called Cirey "the land of philosophy and reason." In the autumn of 1735, after much urging from Émilie, young Venetian Newtonian Francesco Algarotti (1712-64) arrived at Cirey for a six-week visit. Algarotti had made his name through the successful repetition of some Newtonian optical experiments at Bologna in 1729. In 1733 he travelled to Florence and Rome, where he met Martin Folkes (1690-1754) who had been vice President of the Royal Society during Newton's presidency, and the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius (1701-44). In 1734 he accompanied Celsius to Paris where he spent some time working with the mathematical prodigy Alexis-Claude Clairaut (1713-65) and Maupertuis and where, probably through Maupertuis, he met Voltaire and Madame du Châtelet. Algarotti brought with him the manuscript of a popular work he had written on optics entitled Il Newtonianismo per le dame, ovvero Dialoghi sopra la luce, which had been inspired by Fontenelle's treatment of Descartes's astronomy. Algarotti admired the technique of interspersing scientific information with literary allusions and other elegant asides, and decided to use the same approach for a popularisation of Newton's Opticks. During his visit to Cirey Algarotti read his dialogues aloud to his hosts and put the finishing touches to them. Voltaire was soon fired with enthusiasm and set about obtaining some works on optics. On 18 October he is recorded as borrowing Marco Antonio Dominis's De radiis visus et lucis (1611), Franceso Maria Grimaldi's Physico-mathesis de lumine (1665) and Athenasius Kircher's Phonurgia nova (1673) from the Bibliothèque du Roi. Algarotti's work served to remind Voltaire that in France there was no equivalent explanation of Newton's work at this level, and it is easy to see the idea of writing his own popularisation taking shape in Voltaire's mind. After the departure of Algarotti from Cirey at the end of 1735, both Voltaire and Émilie turned to science with renewed energy. Voltaire first mentions his book on Newton in an undated letter that Theodore Besterman (1904-76) assigns to the middle of July 1736. 'Il est vrai que mes occupations me détournent un peu de la poésie. J'étudie la philosophie de Newton sous les yeux d'Émilie qui est à mon gré encore plus admirable de Newton. Je compte meme faire imprimer bientôt un petit ouvrage qui metre tout le monde en état d'entendre cette philosophie, don't le monde parle & qu'on connait encore si peu.' Voltaire ordered a copy of Newton's Traité d'Optique, translated by Pierre Coste, in August 1736, and there seems to have been a copy of Principia at Cirey from late 1736 or early 1737. By October 1736 a substantial amount of progress on the book had been made, and on 19 November he announced to d'Argens that his 'philosophie de Newton' was about to be printed. This was but one more example of Voltaire's perennial optimism. If the optical side was largely finished by this date, the second, gravitational, part probably still remained largely unwritten. At the beginning of December 1736 the outcry over the publication of Voltaire's poem Le Mondain forced him to flee Cirey, taking refuge in Holland. While there he was able to set in motion the printing of the first, optical, part of the book with Etienne Ledet and Jacques Desbordes in Amsterdam while he was hard at work on the remainder. The first sheet of the Éléments was printed at the beginning of February, and the whole was to be finished in two months. But evidently this did not mean that the work itself had been completed; on 4 February Voltaire wrote to Thiriot: 'Mes récréations sont icy de corriger mes ouvrages de belles lettres, et mon occupation sérieuse d'étudier Neuton, et de tâcher de réduire ce géant là à la mesure des mains mes confrères ... J'ay entrepris une besogne bien difficile.' By the beginning of March Voltaire was back at Cirey, where he continued with the preparation of the Éléments. Voltaire sent further material to Ledet but still the gravitational part was incomplete, finishing in the middle of chapter 23. Voltaire thought that his failure to submit his final chapters would delay the Dutch edition:  behind the scenes he was working to secure a privilège for a Paris edition, a move that, if successful, would have allowed Voltaire's explanations to carry the imprimatur of the French intellectual establishment. It was essential - if the censors were to believe in Voltaire's good faith - that the Dutch edition should not appear before the French one. The long delay made Ledet restless, and Voltaire tried to placate him at the end of 1737 by allowing him to publish L'Enfant prodigue in return for postponing publication of the Éléments. By then Voltaire already feared that he would not be granted the privilege, and in January 1738 the request was formally denied after the notoriously cautious and narrow-minded Chancellor d'Aguesseau personally read the text (a rare occurrence), and then vetoed the recommendation of two other censors (another rarity) who had both recommended publication. Among the reasons for the refusal, beyond the chancellor's fussiness, were the theological views attributed to Newton in the final chapter; the great age that Voltaire assigned to the earth, in contradiction to orthodox Christian dating; and the overall anti-Cartesian tone of the work. The last in particular was seen as enflaming public debate in a climate that had already become far too contentious. But it is likely that Voltaire's tone and general reputation were the operative criterion in his censure far more than any conviction about Newtonian or Cartesian philosophy. Once he learned that he would not be granted permission for a French edition Voltaire seemed resigned to not publishing the work at all. Ledet, however, had on his hands a work supervised by Voltaire himself, of which over 300 pages had been set and printed, with many engraved illustrations, vignettes and culs-de-lampe. This was a large investment for a publisher; Ledet was not willing to abandon the project. Without consulting Voltaire he commissioned an anonymous mathematician to finish chapter 23 and add two more chapters to complete the description of the solar system which Voltaire had begun but not finished. Finally, in March 1738, at a point when the controversy between the Newtonians and Cartesians had reached its final critical stage, Ledet lost patience and published the Éléments in Holland on his own account. Ever conscious of the importance of a work appearing à propos, Voltaire could hardly have chosen a better occasion for the appearance of the Éléments if he had tried, and were it not for his genuine annoyance over the errors in the parts of the manuscript that had not been printed before Voltaire left Amsterdam, and that seemed to have been compounded by the printers, one might be tempted to suppose that, given the apparent impossibility of a French edition, all the elaborate attempts he later made to dissociate himself from the publication were no more than a smoke-screen to hide his tacit permission for the publication of the work in Holland. Nevertheless, the errors in the published work became a serious source of acrimony between Voltaire and his Dutch publishers, and Voltaire issued a number of 'éclaircissements'. He was also annoyed by his Dutch editor's decision to add "mise à la porté de tout le monde" (put at the level of everyone) to his chosen title. These were not his words, he asserted, and echoing his many statements in his contemporary correspondence, he described his work as something much more substantial than a popularisation. News of the publication of the Amsterdam edition reached Voltaire long before copies of the book itself, which took the best part of two months to arrive at Cirey. Once the Amsterdam edition was on sale Voltaire was anxious for a French edition to appear with the least delay, and since only a permission tacite could be obtained, his Paris publisher Laurent-François Prault simply set out to reproduce the Ledet edition, consulting Voltaire only at the proof stage. He made no attempt either to remove the chapters written by the anonymous mathematician or to make any revisions, apart from cancels, except that the 'écl, Etienne Ledet et Compagnie, 1738, 0, London: for Timothy Childe, 1698, 8vo (17.2 x 10.7 cm)pp. [6] 120, 5 engraved folding plates, contemporary ownership inscription 'B Barnes' to head, contemporary panelled calf, restored.The Rare First Edition in English of one of the first scientific inquiries into the possibility of extra-terrestrial life, first published in Latin earlier the same year as Kosmotheros, sive de terris coelestibus, earumque ornatu, conjecturae. 'Huygens's reasoning is that it is in the creation of life and living beings that the wisdom and providence of God are most manifest. In the Copernican world system ... the earth holds no privilieged position among the other planets. It would therefore be unreasonable to suppose that life should be restricted to earth alone' (DSB).Christiaan Huygens Dutch physicist, mathematician, astronomer and inventor, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest scientists of all time and a major figure in the scientific revolution. In physics, Huygens made groundbreaking contributions in optics and mechanics, while as an astronomer he is chiefly known for his studies of the rings of Saturn and the discovery of its moon Titan. As an inventor, he improved the design of the telescope with the invention of the Huygenian eyepiece. His most famous invention, however, was the pendulum clock in 1656, which was a breakthrough in timekeeping and became the most accurate timekeeper for almost 300 years. Huygens was an outstanding mathematician and, because he was the first to transfer mathematical inquiry to describe unobservable physical phenomena, he has been called the first theoretical physicist and the founder of modern mathematical physics.DSB VI pp. 611-13; ESTC R5990; Wing H3859., Timothy Childe, 1698, 0<