Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Latin Edition)

This reproduction of Isaac Newton's "Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica" in Latin by Rough Draft Printing is surprisingly crisp, clean and readable. In fact, it's so well typeset, it makes me almost suspicious![PS. This is a review of the Rough Draft Printing reproduction, ISBN 1603864350, not the Watchmaker Publishing reproduction, ISBN 1603863796.]I have bought so many appalling reproductions of historical works in the last 6 months that I was beginning to expect a dodgy fly-by-night effort. So this nice reproduction is a refreshing surprise. (The very first thing I did was to check whether all the pages were there, and that nothing obvious was messed up. It looks perfect to me, as if a human had done some quality control on it.)* The text.* This is evidently a copy of an 1871 University of Glasgow printing of the 1726 third edition of the Principia which appeared at the end of Newton's life. The wikipedia article on the Principia outlines the various editions and mentions in particular that there were several Scottish editions in the 19th century which were based on French versions with commentaries. This version, although Scottish, does not seem to be based on any French edition. It seems to be taken directly from the 1726 third edition. However, it looks to me like it has been newly typeset because printing quality was never this good in the early 18th century. (If you look at the photo of the title page of the third edition on wikipedia, you will see that it was originally printed with both black and red ink, which is reproduced here in black only, with the original typographer's name removed.)* This 1871 Glasgow Uni edition immediately changes from early 18th century fonts to late nineteenth century fonts after the title page. (In fact, my experience of late 19th century printing is that it was not as good as this either. So I wonder exactly when the text was typeset. The mathematical formulas are typeset in the late 19th century style though.)* The diagrams.* In this reproduction, the diagrams seem rather thin. If you look at a photo on wikipedia of page 48 of the 1726 edition, you will see that the diagrams in the original have very much thicker lines than this Rough Draft reproduction. Close comparison of the diagrams shows that the diagrams have been redrawn, but faithfully following the original. The lines in this reproduction are very thin indeed, but not illegibly so. (The fonts of the original are totally different, and the original used old-style "f" instead of "s".)* The formulas.* In this reproduction, modern-style power superscripts are used. Even 100 years after Newton, these were not used. (For example, Euler used xx instead of our modern x² superscript notation.)* The content.* This is the book which divided the medieval from the enlightenment in science. It was the first time that mathematical physics had made serious advances since the time of Archimedes. This book announced the "unified field theory" which stood the test of time until the late 19th century, about 300 years after the first edition of the Principia. Vast numbers of historical commentaries have reflected upon the significance of Newton's Principia, and deservedly so.* After Newton, the world was viewed as a clockwork, deterministic universe, throwing doubt on the concept of free will. Just as Newton seemed to frame his three laws of motion as axioms in the style of Euclid, so also other scientists after Newton tried to discover the axioms of their own sciences so as to have the same success as Newton. Even to this day, physicists are looking for a "grand unified field theory" which will explain everything in a handful of axioms.* The rapid advances of our "civilisation" since Newton have been based on the flow-through of advances from pure sciences to engineering and the applied sciences (such as medicine), and from engineering and medicine to the economy and the general standard of living. The industrial revolution was based to a great extent on innovation which was framed within Newton's approach to physics, which was then extended to other sciences.* The structure of the work.* There are 3 "books" within this single binding. Book 1 commences with the famous 3 laws of motion (conservation of momentum, F=ma, and equal/opposite reactions). Then follows the derivation of the motions of the planets from the 3 laws.* Book 2 covers motion with air resistance, e.g. projectiles and pendulums, and a few notes on fluid motion and waves.* Book 3 starts with four fascinating "philosophical rules" (pages 387-389), including what looks very much like Occam's razor and the rule of uniformity of physics in the universe. (This rule sort of excludes free will, by the way!) Then Book 3 gets into some applications of the theory in Books 1 and 2, and reconciling the motions of comets, planets, planetary moons and tides with the theory. One of the more interesting philosophical rules is that if best-fit measurement suggests a rule approximately, then the rule is probably exact. E.g. if measurements suggest that gravity has an inverse 1.99-power law, then probably that is exactly an inverse square law. I.e. differences from near-misses can be attributed to observational error. In other words, if the universe looks like it almost follows a simple law, then the difference is attributable to observational error. (Newton was a bit more qualified and subtle than that.)* Conclusion.* If you can read Latin, this is a truly important and fascinating work. It's good to finally read the text which directly led to our modern world based on science and mathematical models of the world.* If you don't read Latin, then this is a great book to have on your shelf, to show that you are an erudite, sophisticated person who appreciates the broad sweep of humanity and history.

The book was sold as "used;like new" condition and was, in fact, brand new, bearing no sign of having even been opened before. This is the 2008 Kessinger Publishing hardcover reprint of the 1822 version of Newton's Principia, originally published in Glasgow. The text is entirely in Latin.The quality of the printing, including both text and drawings, is excellent. The paper seems of excellent quality. The glossy hardcover will undoubtedly begin quickly to show wear as the book is read.Now, I just have to learn Latin.

It shows you why Newton is the most brilliant person that has ever existed. Complicated book but worth it

This book has exceeded my student's and my expectations for quality. It is beautiful, the print readable, the cover an elegant black and gold, and the book is holding together well despite getting hauled weekly to-and-from class. I highly recommend it for anyone who wishes to read Newton in Latin. The price is unbelievably low for what one receives in this volume.

Content is fabulous, cover could be better.

It's in Latin. It's a paperback. The lines of the graphics aren't as clear as I'd like them to be. But nonetheless, I love it. I would love it even more if it came bound in leather. Which is what I'm planning to do with this book. Quod erat demonstrandum and to the moon! lol

This book is one of the most important book in the history of science. A must have for any scientific library.

This book thrills the nerdy geek in my soul!