18 to remind Newton of his promise. Finally, probably towards the end of September, a revised copy of the first 320 pages was sent to Cotes by Whiston. By April 15, 1710, about half the work (pp. 1-224 of the second edition) was printed, but all save one letter of the correspondence of this time concerning it is lost. The bulk of the subsequent correspondence between Newton, Cotes, and Bentley relating to the work is extant, and is reprinted in the volume to which I have so often given references. The whole story is told there with a fulness of detail which renders it unnecessary for me to do more than refer the reader to it. It will be sufficient perhaps to say that Newton, who at first had been somewhat indifferent, gradually became keenly interested in the work, and wrote "almost every post about it." The printing of the latter half of the book was rather slow, and it was not finally issued till July, 1713. The whole of the wood-blocks were cut afresh for it. It would seem that the price † of a copy in quires (unbound) was 15s.; while that of a copy bound varied from 18s. (the sum paid by Flamsteed) to 21s. (the sum mentioned by Ch. Morgan); probably the number § of copies struck off was 750, of which 200 were sent to France and Holland, "though at great abatement." The whole profits of the edition were taken by Bentley, who had a keen eye for business in the matter; apparently Cotes received no remuneration for his work except 12 copies of the book; while even the cost of some corrections (in a revise of a little more than a sheet, which necessitated its being re-set) was charged to Newton. In fact, Bentley, though doubtless anxious that the work should be published, treated the * See below, chapter viii., C, pp. 174–175. Letter from Bentley to Newton, July 1, 1713, quoted by Brewster, vol. ii. p. 194. Cotes Correspondence, p. 159, note. § Ibid, Letter lxxi. Ibid, Letter lxviii. * publication as a commercial speculation of his own; and he even went so far as (unknown to Newton and Halley) to alter the verses which the latter had prefixed to the first edition-an action quite indefensible. The most important of the changes. introduced into the second edition have been already mentioned (see above, p. 74). The history of the preparation of the third edition may be treated very briefly. Some (perhaps all) of Newton's manuscript corrections of the second edition, and additions to it, are in the Portsmouth Collection; and if a critical edition of the text of the Principia should be in the future issued, they will no doubt be there described. In 1724 these materials were put into the hands of Henry Pemberton, with a view to the issue of a third edition. Newton himself was then over eighty years of age, and he left the revision largely to Pemberton. At the same time he seems to have answered all the questions directly addressed to him. Pemberton † speaks both of personal interviews and of letters passing between them. Of the former no record exists ; of the latter, twenty-three letters from Pemberton to Newtonof which those that are dated are between February, 1724, and February, 1726-and seven sheets of queries by Pemberton, all relating to the preparation of the third edition of the Principia, are in the Portsmouth Collectiont. Unfortunately Newton's replies are lost§, but the letters are interesting even as they stand, and if Newton's complete scientific correspondence should be ever published, I hope these letters may be added to it. New blocks were again cut for all the diagrams. * Conduitt says he asked Newton "how he came to let Bentley print his Principia, which he did not understand-' Why,' said he, ‘he was covetous, and I let him do it to get money.'"-Conduitt's MS., quoted by Brewster, vol. i. p. 274. + Preface to Pemberton's View of Newton's Philosophy, London, 1728. Section VI. division xii. § See below, p. 175. In February or March, 1726, the third edition was issued, with a preface by Newton, dated Jan. 12, in which he mentions some of the additions; the most important of these have been already enumerated (see above, p. 75). The verses by Halley were restored almost to their original form, and the scholium on fluxions was rewritten. Perhaps I should add that Newton sent Pemberton two hundred guineas as an acknowledgment of his trouble in revising the work, and allowed him to take the profits of the edition. (ii) The The following editions of the complete Principia have been issued: (i) The original edition, London, 1686. second edition, edited by R. Cotes, London, 1713. (iii) Reprint of the second edition, Amsterdam, 1714. (iv) Another reprint of the second edition, with the addition of some tracts, Amsterdam, 1723. (v) The third edition, edited by H. Pemberton, London, 1726. (vi) Reprint of the third edition, with a commentary by T. Le Seur and F. Jacquier, and a list of errata, 3 volumes, Geneva, 1739-40-42. (vii) The same reprinted, 3 volumes, Colonia Allobrogum (i.e. Geneva), 1760. (viii) The third edition, with a commentary and notes by J. Tessanek, Prague, 2 volumes, 1780-85. (ix) The third edition reprinted in S. Horsley's edition of Newton's collected works, vol. ii., 1779, and vol. iii., 1782. (x) The third edition, with errors corrected by J. M. F. Wright, Glasgow, 4 volumes, 1822. (xi) Reprint of the third edition by Sir Wm. Thomson and H. Blackburn, Glasgow, 1871. Besides the above, the following editions of an English translation by A. Motte have been issued: (i) Motte's original edition, London, 2 volumes, 1729. (ii) Second edition of the above, together with a translation of the System of the World (which had been published in 1728) and addenda, edited by W. Davis, London, 3 volumes, 1803. (iii) Third edition of both the above, said to be revised, and with a life of Newton by N. W. Chittenden, New York, 1846 (or perhaps 1848). (iv) Reissue of this third edition, unaltered save for a new title page, New York, 1850. The above translations are too literal to be altogether satisfactory. A French translation of the third edition of the Principia, with a commentary attributed to the Marquise Du Chastellet but believed to have been inspired by Clairaut, was published in 2 volumes, Paris, 1759. A German translation of the third edition, edited by J. P. Wolfers, and with an appendix on similar and more recent investigations, was published at Berlin in 1872. An immense number of commentaries have appeared on the Principia or on parts of it, but it would be difficult, and would serve no useful purpose, to compile a list of these. 138 CHAPTER VIII. APPENDICES. THE following documents and memoranda are printed as appendices to the foregoing essay. A. Correspondence between Hooke and Newton, 1679–1680, and Memoranda relating thereto. 1. Hooke to Newton, Nov. 24, 1679. 7. Newton to Hooke, Dec. 3, 1680. 8. Hooke's comments on this correspondence. B. Correspondence between Halley and Newton, 1686-1687. 1. Halley to Newton, May 22, 1686. |