Samuel Clarke’s Annotations in Jacques Rohault’s Traité de Physique, and How They Contributed to Popularising Newton’s Physics

Abstract

Isaac Newton published his important Philosophiae Naturalis Prinicpia Mathematica in 1687. However, considerable skills in mathematics or geometry are completely necessary to follow Newton’s thoughts and therefrom only a few contemporaries of Newton comprehended his great book fully. As a result the knowledge of Newton’s physics remained limited to a small circle of mathematicians and physicists. It was only when Samuel Clarke published his new Latin translation of Jacques Rohault’s Traité de Physique in 1697 that a wider audience, e.g. philosophers and theologians, got the opportunity to read up on Newton’s physics. In those days Rohault’s Traité de Physique was a widely-read textbook of the Cartesian physics. Fortunately, Clarke added a large number of annotations presenting Newton’s opinions to his new Latin translation. Since Clarke hardly ever made use of mathematical reasoning or calculations for presenting Newton’s views the common reader who could not comprehend Newton’s mathematical considerations in the Principia had a chance to get to know Newton’s physics. Furthermore, it was possible for the common reader to compare the then predominant Cartesian physics with Newton’s physics. In this way Clarke’s new Latin translation of Rohault’s Traité de Physique served as a Trojan horse for Newton’s physics.