The Attitude of Voltaire to Magic and the Sciences 9780231892025

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STUDIES IN HISTORY, ECONOMICS AND PUBLIC LAW Edited by the FACULTY OF POLITICAL SCIENCE OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

NUMBER 108

THE ATTITUDE OF VOLTAIRE TO MAGIC AND THE SCIENCES BY

MARGATiWT SHERWOOD LIBBY

THE ATTITUDE OF VOLTAIRE TO MAGIC AND THE SCIENCES

BY

MARGARET SHERWOOD LIBBY, PH.D.

" Un seul homme éloquent, habile et accrédité, pourra beaucoup sur les hommes ; cent philosophes n'y pourront rien s'ils ne sont que philosophes." VOLTAIRE.

NEW

YORK

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS LONDON : P . S . KING & SON, LTD.

»935

COPYRIGHT,

193

BY COLUMBIA U N I V E R S I T Y

PRESS

PRINTED IN T H E UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

9« M. R. S., who began this work, M.E.S. and A. F.L., who have spurred it on, and L.T., whose constructive suggestions and detailed criticisms have been of inestimable help in writing it.

" The one was fire and fickleness, a child, Most mutable in wishes, but in mind A wit as various—gay, grave, sage or wild,— Historian, bard, philosopher combined; He multiplied himself among mankind, The Proteus of their talents: but his own Breathed most in ridicule,—which, as the wind, Blew where it listed, laying all things prone, Now to o'erthrow a fool, and now to shake a throne." GEORGE NOEL GORDON, LOBS BYBON.

1788-1824.

" Mock on, mock, on, Voltaire, Rousseau Mock on, mock on: 'tis all in vain I Y o u throw the sand against the wind, And the wind blows it back again. And every sand becomes a gem Reflected in the beams divine; Blown back they blind the mocking eye, But still in Israel's path they shine. The atoms of Democritus And Newton's Particles of Light A r e sands upon the Red Sea shore, Where Israel's tents do shine so bright." W I L L I A M BLAKE.

1757-1827.

" The spacious firmament on high, With all the blue ethereal sky, And spangled heavens, a shining frame, Their great Original proclaim. Th' unwearied Sun from day to day Does his Creator's power display; And publishes to every land The work of an Almighty hand. Soon as the evening shades prevail, The Moon takes up the wondrous tale; And nightly to the listening Earth Repeats the story of her birth: Whilst all the stars that round her burn, And all the planets in their turn, Confirm the tidings as they roll, And spread the truth from pole to pole. What though in solemn silence all Move round the dark terrestrial ball; W h a t though no real voice nor sound Amidst their radiant orbs be found? In Reason's ear they all rejoice, And utter forth a glorious voice; For ever singing as they shine, ' The Hand that made us is divine.'" JOSEPH

ADDISON.

1672-1719.

TABLE OF CONTENTS PACK 9

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER I The Scientific Education of Voltaire

15

C H A P T E R II Advice on Methods of Scientific Investigation

73

CHAPTER III Physics, Chemistry and Astronomy— Part i. Popular Writings on Gravity and Optics Part ii. Researches on Fire and Motive Forces

93 139

C H A P T E R IV Geology, Biology and Anthropology

168

CHAPTER V Voltaire and Magic

205 CHAPTER VI

Voltaire and Medicine

240

CONCLUSION

369

BIBLIOGRAPHY

274

INDEX

297

INTRODUCTION IN its extreme youth the eighteenth century fell heir to the Newtonian heritage, and one of the most interesting problems for the student of the history of thought is the question of the appropriation of these riches. These included not only specific discoveries such as the theory of gravity but also the confirmation of the reign of law in the universe and the application of mathematical methods to the solution of scientific problems. Such revolutionary changes were, of course, not due to Newton alone, but his work can be conveniently taken as the culmination of one phase of scientific development and the inauguration of another. In fact it is almost too convenient, coinciding as it does with the end of the seventeenth century. We are tempted to imply a greater cleavage in thought than actually took place. However, whether the change was revolutionary or not, change there was especially among scientists. But what of the educated men who were not scientists ? Is there evidence among them of a new attitude toward the sciences markedly different from that which they would have held in the seventeenth century? Did they soon become converts to Newtonism? How completely did they accept it and pass it on to others? How did it affect their opinions of new hypotheses and scientific methods? Did they still cherish outworn superstitions and time-honored notions ? Just how reasonable indeed was the " age of reason ", when philosophes in every country thought the century blessed above all others, because it had produced men like themselves who could think clearly unhampered by prejudices and ancient superstition ? 9

INTRODUCTION

IO

A careful examination of the entire work of the writers of this time could well be made with these questions in mind, each being scrutinized for evidence of the survival of older notions and other limitations as well as for discoveries and indications of the " modern " point of view. The present less comprehensive investigation will confine itself to a narrower field, the development of the opinions of one man, the man however who gave his name to the century— Voltaire. In his youth this extraordinary Frenchman became an ardent follower of Newton and ever afterwards his attitude toward science was colored by this conversion. He preached Newtonism, he practised it, and let the notion he attained form his criterion for judgment of the work of scientists. It was not the only scientific lesson he learned, but he was proudest of it, wore it as the brightest jewel of his crown and flaunted it all his life. This is one reason why he is an excellent subject for this investigation. W e can study the effects of the Newtonian ideas on the thought of a philosophe who was never a professional scientist but whose keen mind and insatiable curiosity gave him an ardent amateur interest. A t the same time we can discover what interpretations of these were offered by him to the readers of the eighteenth century, whether it is true, as Bloch says in his work on Newton, that " between the seventeenth century, Cartesian to an extreme degree, and the eighteenth century, Voltairian without reserve, there is an abyss which history can hardly bridge." 1 There are other reasons for choosing Voltaire as a guide in the study of opinion. In the first place his long life-time nearly coincided with the century, his works appearing from before the death of Newton until within eleven years of the French Revolution. This, combined with a tremendous 1

Leon Block, La Philosophie de Newton, Paris, Alcan, 1908, p. 527.

INTRODUCTION

II

quantity of literary output each year and a gift for effective style, gave him an indisputably important position in his time which even his enemies recognized. His books were read, his plays were produced, his ideas were discussed— abused sometimes and belittled but still discussed. L a Harpe in his eulogy gives an exaggerated impression but one which still conveys a good deal of truth : 2 Voltaire spoke of everything and to everybody. Because of the peculiar charm of his style and the phrasing of his works he was more read than any writer had ever been, and as fashion influences everything, and everyone was desirous of reading Voltaire, he made ignorance shameful, and a taste for instruction general. A widely read author * can be an intellectual pioneer whom the multitude follow, or merely an articulate member of the throng, but in either case his importance must, as Dr. Sarton says, be admitted in the history of thought.4 Nor is it fair to imply that Voltaire's immense prestige and consequent importance in this study are due merely to the quantity and popularity of his works. His avid curiosity and his ambition to be recognized in every field of knowledge brought him and kept him in contact with the learning of the period. The most eminent men were his friends or acquaintances, encyclopedists, literary men, scien2

Oeuvres complètes de Voltaire, Paris, Gamier, 1880, vol. i, p. 167. This reference is to the Moland edition in fifty-two volumes, a reproduction of the Beuchot edition with many additions to the correspondence and the most complete in existence. All future references to the works of Voltaire, unless it is otherwise stated, are to this edition. • F o r estimates of the wide diffusion of Voltaire's writings see the works of the following authors listed in the bibliography at the end of the volume: Georges Bengesco, Ronald S. Crane, Robert Elst, Daniel Mornet. » Sarton, George, An Introduction to the History of Science, Baltimore, 1927-1931, vol. i, p. 41.

12

INTRODUCTION

tists—all alike. He read enormously, studied with astounding zeal and retained, thanks to an excellent memory, a vast store of information. Then, since he was not the man to hide his light but far more likely to equip it with reflectors, he wrote constantly on the topics of most absorbing interest in his time. Thus his opinions were spread abroad illumined by his inimitable style. He became a sort of intellectual middleman who received ideas, rearranged and changed them as he wished, before passing them on. It might seem from the foregoing paragraph that Voltaire was merely a journalist or popularizer. This, however, is only partially true. His primary purpose was not to find out what scholars were thinking merely to have material for readable books. H e was intensely interested in their investigations, so interested that when he ascertained their opinions he wished to formulate them for himself, state his approval or disapproval of them in no vague terms. He seemed above all an ardent student, a perpetual undergraduate, whose university was the Europe of the eighteenth century, whose professors were the great men of his time, one who took many courses, refused to specialize to any extent and wrote exercises and essays partly for sheer enjoyment and desire to excel, partly to fix the information in his own mind. It is in this capacity that he is of aid in our study, for we too wish to go to school to his century. If we discover what he learned in the special field of the sciences, it should throw light on scientific thought among educated men then. There are certain difficulties in using Voltaire for this purpose. First it must be borne in mind that knowledge of a period cannot be adequately achieved by the study of the works of one man, even though that man be a genius whose work is believed by many to epitomize the thought of his century; at best it can only suggest certain trends. Then in

INTRODUCTION

13

the case of this particular author we must remember that certain epigrammatic phrases were written more for the sake o f their dazzling style than from conviction of truth, and that arguments were sometimes used without any sincere belief in their validity merely because they might suffice to overthrow the ideas of personal enemies or to attack theories against which he had some prejudice. How can we discount wit and prejudice? Against the former Voltaire gives us aid by constant repetition of cherished ideas expressed in different phrases. Against the latter a knowledge of his life, his friends and his enemies, and his most deep-seated convictions can alone guide us. I f we err despite these precautions we may safely assume that we are no more deceived than were his contemporaries. Our purpose is to find out and evaluate the ideas of Voltaire in the realm of the sciences in order to widen our knowledge of the scientific point of view of educated men of his time. In so far as the opinion of one author can guide us we hope to discover the specific knowledge and general concepts and attitudes on scientific problems available to the average reader of the eighteenth century. First we shall study Voltaire's equipment for scientific studies and the circumstances in his life which affected his opinions. The next step will be to scrutinize Voltaire's published works for remarks on scientific methods, on superstitions and errors of the past and on current information and hypotheses in the various sciences and applied sciences. Having ascertained his " intellectual baggage " we shall try to show the relation of his thought to that of his predecessors and contemporaries.

C H A P T E R

I

T H E S C I E N T I F I C E D U C A T I O N OF V O L T A I R E

BEFORE treating Voltaire's works on science there are certain essential facts of his life which should be recalled. They serve to explain the influences that were important in the formation of his ideas and can aid us in any estimate of his thought. Born in 1694, the delicate son of a Paris notary, the young Arouet was under the tutelage of his godfather, the gay irreligious Abbé de Châteauneuf, in his earliest youth. 1 Later, in accordance with his father's bourgeois ambition, he was sent to an aristocratic Jesuit college for his formal education. There he met d'Argental and Pont de Veyle, the nephews of the Cardinal Tencin, and Cideville, Fyot de la Marche and both the d'Argensons, who were later to hold prominent positions and whose friendship he was to keep all his life. 2 There he also read and learned by heart poets, historians and philosophers,® acquiring, as he put it in later life " latin et des sottises " — a somewhat slight background for a brilliant career though perhaps no slighter than many persons eminent in later life have possessed when they left school. It has been suggested that even the Latin was not perfect 4 though certainly he was able to read familiar authors with pleasure and scientific 1 For accounts of Voltaire's youth 1694-1726 see the works of the following authors listed in the bibliography at the end of the volume: Georges Ascoli, Ferdnand Baldensperger, Henri Beaune, George Brandes, Qeveland Chase, Gustave Desnoiresterres, Emile Faguet, Gustave Lanson, John Morley, Alexis Pierron. 2 Lanson,

Gustave, Voltaire, p. 11.

» X X X V , p. 19, letter 943, 20 Oct., 1738, to Abbé Olivet. 4

Pierron, Alexis, Voltaire et ses maîtres, chap. i.

15

i6

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AND

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works with ease if with some distaste. Probably his mathematical training was slight. He never liked figures and doubtless felt that limitation which Clairaut was later to remark upon, a desire to jump at conclusions without following patiently the necessary steps.5 Nothing in all this is remarkable, but soon he developed a facility for writing that was to win him fame before he was twenty-five and that continues to amaze and delight his readers. This power of expressing the simplest ideas in a manner that makes them appear original and brilliant was to be of great use to him in his writings on sciences. It added to his prestige in a century when wit and clarity were everywhere lauded; it clothed his remarks on scientific questions with the charm of style which made them seem more important than their context deserved; and it still enhances his influence. Who does not know of Voltaire's ideas? What writer on the eighteenth century fails to quote him, while eminent scientists of his day live only in scholarly monographs or, at best, in paragraphs in histories of science? In addition to this extraordinary gift of expression, the young Arouet possessed an amazingly acute mind, a vivid curiosity and an astounding vitality of spirit that were never to leave him. With these gifts and an ambition to excel in any field in which laurels were to be won this apparently ordinary young law-student took Paris by storm. His wit was the delight of society, his play Oedipus was the success of the 1 7 1 8 season, and the Sieur de Voltaire was evolved. The society which Voltaire had entered so swiftly was not merely frivolous. Its members were acquiring a taste for serious thought on scientific and philosophical questions. The rationalism of Descartes and the scepticism of Bayle with their emphasis on the value of factual knowledge were » I, p. 215.

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17

dominant influences.4 French deism had developed some time earlier, preparing the way for Locke and the English deists. It was the period of the Persian Letters of Montesquieu. Above all it was the time when, as Lanson says/ Fontenelle repeated in exquisitely clear formulas that reason consisted in doubting, in seeing before believing, and that neither the desire nor the need of man is the proof of truth. He took pains to show that the oracles of the ancients were not made by demons, and his explanation of pagan supernatural effects, by the deceit of priests and the credulity of the people, extended almost of its own accord to Christian miracles. He taught society the new astronomy, that of Copernicus, of Galileo and of Descartes ; he substituted delicately, without turmoil, in their minds the notion of the laws of mechanics in place of the idea of providence . . . he changed the type of culture of respectable people; instead of oratorical and poetical he made it scientific. Not only did Voltaire acquire an intimate knowledge of Parisian society and its interests but his horizon was widened by two visits to Holland in 1713 and 1722.® So few details of these Dutch trips are known that their influence has not 8 Cf. : Cazes, Albert, Pierre Bay le, sa vie, ses idées, son influence, son oeuvre, Paris, Dujarric, 1905; Delvolvé, Jean, Essai sur Pierre Bay le, religion, critique et philosophie positive, Paris, Alcan, 1906; Haxo, Henry, "Pierre Bayle et Voltaire avant les lettres philosophiques", in Pub. of Modern Language Association of America, 1931, vol. xlvi, pp. 461-497 ; Lanson, Gustave, " Le Rôle de l'expérience dans la formation de la philosophie du X V I I I e siècle en France", in Études d'histoire littéraire réunies et publiées par ses collègues, ses élèves et ses amis, Paris, Champion, 1929, and " L'Influence de la philosophie cartésienne sur la littérature française ", in Études d'histoire littéraire, Paris, Champion, 1929; Robinson, J. Howard, The Great Comet of 1680; a study in the history of rationalism, Northfield, Minnesota, 1916, and Bayle the Sceptic, New Y o r k , 1931. T

Lanson, Gustave, Voltaire, p. 28.

• For further information concerning the Dutch visits see the works of the following authors listed in the bibliography: Fabrice Allizé, Georges Bengesco, J. C. A . van Sypesteyn, P. Valkofï et J. Fransen.

i8

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been emphasized in the studies of the thought of Voltaire. If we do not know what ideas Voltaire acquired there, we can at least surmise that in this land of philosophers he might have heard much of the " new physics "—that of Newton. Pierre Brunet in Dutch Physicists and the Experimental Method in France in the Eighteenth Century finds that, while Holland was very Cartesian, the experimental method developed there rapidly.* Huygens, Leuwenhoek and Boerhaave are evidences of this. Also the close connection between the English scientists and the Dutch in the early years of the eighteenth century did much to foster Newtonian theories and methods there. Gravesande, the famous Dutch physicist, was in England in 1715. There he met Desaguliers, a well-known English Newtonian, whose courses were very popular and who later came to Holland. A f t e r Gravesande's return he taught at Leyden, giving as his inaugural address in 1717 a plea for the use of mathematics and experimentation in all sciences especially physics.10 His Elementary Physics, the first text in physics with experiments, was published in 1720 and 1721. 11 Nor was Holland a home of scientists alone. It continued to be a refuge for philosophers as it had been in the days of Locke and Spinoza, Descartes and Bayle. Shaftesbury had made two visits to Holland, in 1698-99 and in 1703, and Haller was there the year after Voltaire's second visit. 12 Certainly Voltaire could hear as much of the new physics and newer philosophy there as in England. Probably in * Les Physiciens hollandais et la méthode expérimentale XVIIIe siècle, Paris, Blanchard, 1926.

en France au

10 De matheseos in omnibus scientiis praecipue m physicis usu; de astronomiae perfectione ex physica haurienda. 31

necnon

See page 29 for exact titles, etc.

Jones, Howard Mumford, "Albrecht von Haller and English Philosophy", in Pub. oj Modern Language Association of America, vol. xl, March-December, 1925, p. 106. 12

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1713 not a great deal reached the ears of the young traveler absorbed as he was in love affairs and poetry. By 1722, however, the first faint indications of an interest in physics had appeared and he might be expected to listen to remarks on the subject. This first indication is seen in a letter of June, 1721, to Fontenelle complimenting him on his Mondes18 which had quite turned the ladies' heads and " makes those things agreeable which many other philosophers render barely intelligible, thus giving the ignorant a taste for the sciences." 14 Voltaire even offers to believe him blindly if he maintains as " Descartes pretends " that the sun is encrusted ; and he describes carefully a curious pale sun in a seemingly cloudless sky following a flaming sunrise. He is rather pleased with this letter, writing about it shortly afterwards to Thieriot, a new friend whom he had met while studying law under Master Alain of the Châtelet." Thieriot, like Voltaire's eminent schoolmates, was destined to receive many a similar letter in the future filled with comments on current topics. This one ends " here you see me a poet and physicist." 18 Poète et physicien! The pleasantly alliterative phrase suggests an immense intellectual scope and, though used half-humorously, presents a self-portrait which Voltaire long cherished." Indeed an ardent wish to appear to posEntretiens sur ¡a pluralité des mondes in Oeuvres. Paris, Salmon, 182S, vol. 3. « X X X I I I , p. 56, letter 45, June 1721; cf. X X X I I I , p. 222, letter 216. 14

18

Lanson, Gustave, Voltaire, p. 15.

14

X X X I I I , p. 59, letter 46, June, 1721, to Thieriot.

17

X, p. 27s, Êpître à une dame ou soi-disant telle, 1732. " Tous les gouts à la fois sont entrés dans mon âme Tout art a mon homage, et tout plaisir m'enflamme."

X L V I I , p. 565, letter 8430, 6 Dec., 1771, to Laurent. " Vous avez raison de dire, monsieur, que je m'interesse à tous les arts et aux objets du commerce: ' Tous les gouts à la fois sont entrés dans mon âme.' "

20

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sess encyclopedic knowledge motivated his subsequent scientific activities as strongly as his acute desire for universal wisdom. Even though Voltaire was in an atmosphere so conducive to scientific interests, his newly awakened taste seems dormant in the winter of 1722. He writes from the Hague of horseback riding, tennis and good tokay, of the sight of thousands of vessels, of fine society and bad opera and excellent ministers of all sects 18 —but no word of the professors. Apparently whatever Voltaire may have heard about Newtonian physics at this time interested him little or the embryo po'ete et physicien would surely have commented upon it. Shortly after the Dutch visit Voltaire stayed with Bolingbrokeand his future wife, Madame de Villette, at La Source, their home near Orleans. He was enchanted with them. Bolingbroke has " all the erudition of his country and all the politeness of ours ", has " found means to learn everything and retain everything ", and, best of all perhaps, is " infinitely satisfied " with Voltaire's Henriade™ All we can glean from such sweeping statements is that England is already associated in Voltaire's mind with learning, and that Bolingbroke's influence was important in his philosophical education. Following the suggestion of John Churton Collins in Bolingbroke, a Historical Study,30 Arthur Sydney Hum traced in detail the relation of the ideas of the two men in Voltaire and Bolingbroke, a comparative study of their " X X X I I I , p. 72, letter 61, 2 Oct., 1722, to Thieriot; X X X I I I , p. 73, letter 62, 7 Oct., 1722, to Madame la Presidente de Bernieres. « X X X I I I , p. 84, letter 77, 2 Jan., 1723, to Thieriot. In view of the fact that Voltaire's works are readily accessible it has not been considered necessary to give in the notes the original French for each passage quoted in the text unless the particular flavor or the precision of Voltaire's thought seemed lost in translation to any marked extent. 20 Collins, John Churton, Bolingbroke, a Historical Study; and Voltaire in England, London, J . Murray, 1886.

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philosophical and religious ideas* He found, as Collins had said, that " the writings and the conversation of his friend furnished him not only with the hint and framework of those doctrines which the world has for many generations recognized as most characteristic of Voltaire but with an inexhaustible supply of illustrative material." " The revolt against a priori reasoning and against the domination of philosophical systems mixed with scorn for the ability of Descartes to create a universe for himself, the emphasis on practical truth and the natural sciences without going so far as to think that science in its turn could explain the universe, the hatred of atheism combined with dislike of Christianity and admiration for the natural religion of Lord Herbert of Cherbury—all these most Voltairian ideas are in Bolingbroke's works. Even more specific comments are identical; praise of observation and experiment, the existence of design in the universe as a proof of God—the doctrine of final causes—, reason as a means of improving mankind, criticism of Aristotle, Descartes and Malebranche, the statement that all science was mere jargon until Francis Bacon's time, and praise for Locke's empiricism. So we find Voltaire at twenty-six in contact with the man who was to have such a profound influence on his writings. Certainly after his visit to La Source he was prepared to welcome any scientific ideas that might fit into his philosophical theories. The following winter Voltaire was seriously ill with smallpox and was gratified to have Bolingbroke show frequent concern for his health. A s soon as he was well he wrote to the Baron de Breteuil of the details of his illness and the cure effected by Dr. Gervasi.28 He had never been 3 1 H u m , Arthur Sydney, Voltaire et Bolingbroke. Étude comparative sur leurs idées philosophiques et religieuses, Paris, Jouve, 1915. 22

Collins, op. cit., p. 141.

83

X X X I I I , p. ioo, letter 101, Dec., 1723, to the Baron de Breteuil.

22

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strong and had o f t e n been under the care of physicians but f r o m this time on he became more deeply interested in medicine and theories about diseases, especially in any means of checking smallpox. W h e n Voltaire actually saw England f o r the first time, soon a f t e r the unpleasant de Rohan episode and the subsequent collapse of his social success, his predisposition in its f a v o r w a s heightened by disillusionment with France. Here we must stop to take note of the darkness that envelops the English v i s i t — e v e n the length of it is a subject of dispute, though the consensus of opinion seems to f a v o r three years, f r o m the middle of M a y 1726 until early 1729. Lanson in his invaluable edition of Voltaire's Philosophical Letters M has given us much light, as have John Churton Collins 25 and Lucien Foulet, 2 8 but we still must guess at many of the influences that affected him. Haller, w h o was in England at the same time, mentions the eminent scientists such as Wallis, Newton, Keill, Desaguliers, Pemberton and Clarke.®7 H e , like Voltaire, was impressed by the development of law, natural science, mathematics, metaphysics and good government. Evidently a distinguished vistor would receive this impression just as he could not fail to hear of Pope or S w i f t . W e know that Voltaire made the acquaintance of Dr. Samuel Clarke, N e w t o n ' s disciple w h o took up the cudgels so fiercely f o r him in the famous dispute with Leibniz over free will.2® Clarke edited the popular Cartesian physics by 2 4 Lanson, Gustave, Voltaire, Lettres philosophiques. Édition critique avec une introduction et un commentaire, Paris, Hachette, 1915-17, 2 vols. 2 5 Collins, John Churton, Voltaire, Montesquieu and Rousseau in England, London, E. Nash, 1886. 48 Foulet, Lucien, " Le Voyage de Voltaire en Angleterre ", in Revue d'histoire littéraire de ta France, 1906, année 13, pp. 1-25. 2 7 Jones, Howard Mumford, Albrecht von Haller and English philosophy ". 2 8 Collins, John Churton, Voltaire, Montesquieu and Rousseau England, p. 61 ; Chase, Cleveland, The Young Voltaire, p. 354.

in

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23

Rohault with careful notes correcting its errors in the light of the Principia and the Optics.10 Voltaire does not refer to this edition, though he laughs at the inadequacies of the old Rohault.80 In later years he called Clarke his teacher 1 1 and indeed, as we shall see later, he followed his thought closely.82 W e are told that Voltaire knew personally Berkeley, Sloane—the president of the Royal Society—, Pope and Swift. 8 * Voltaire's letters at this time give us the scantiest information of his life or his interests. Then suddenly, a year and a half after his arrival, he writes to Thieriot " improve your English till the book of Mr. Pemberton comes out. This book is an easy, clear and regular explanation of Sir Isaac Newton's philosophy, which he undertakes to make palatable to the most unthinking man." " The lesson in science is proceeding apace. Hitherto, with the exception of the complimentary letter to Fontenelle, there have been no specific references to scientific thought. This book of Pemberton's 85 which Voltaire had probably either seen in the manuscript 86 or heard about from the author, is pre29 Rohault's System of Natural Philosophy illustrated with Samuel Clarke's Notes taken mostly out of Sir Isaac Newton's philosophy with

additions, London, Knapton, 1723, 2 vols. 30

X X I , p. 273-274, L'Ingenu, 1767.

S1

X X X I I I , p. 520, letter 503, 1735, to Pere Tournemine; X X I V , p. 194,

Courte reponse aux longs disc ours, 1744; X I I

p. 403.

" Cf. infra, pp. 37, 58, 122, 150. 83

Collins, John Churton, England, pp. 58-61, 93.

Voltaire,

Montesquieu and Rousseau

in

« X X X I I I , p. 174, letter 176, 27 May, 1737. * 5 Pemberton, H e n r y , A

View

of Sir

Isaac Newton's

Philosophy,

London, Palmer, 1728. There were two copies of this book in Voltaire's library. Cf. "Voltaire's Books: a selected list" by George R. Havens and Norman L. Torrey in Modern Philology, vol. xxvii, 1929, pp. 1-22. i4

F o u l e t , Lucien, Correspondance de Voltaire, 1726-1729, la Bastille, I'Angleterre, le retour en France, Paris, Hachette, 1913, p. 96, says that the London Journal had published a memoir of Pemberton entitled Proposals for printing hy subscription A View of Sir Isaac Newton's Philosophy.

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cisely what Voltaire said it was. Divided into three books it develops the laws of motion, then gives an account of the system of the world as explained in the last book of the Principia and finally summarizes the Optics. B y its very simple a i m — " to give such as are not used to mathematical reasoning some idea of philosophy " — i t necessarily leaves out a great deal, but in its pages the theory of gravity with its implications for an explanation of our solar system and the new theory of colors stand out clearly. Although avowedly written to enlighten those ignorant of mathematics, a purpose approved by Voltaire in Fontenelle's case, this book is far from being a piece of fine writing like the Mondes. It is a straightforward exposition of Newton's philosophy, an extremely simplified text, without interpolated dialogues, quips and flourishes. Clear and palatable as this was, Voltaire remained either unconvinced of the truth of Newton's theories or perhaps afraid to sponsor them openly. T h e fourteenth of the Philosophical Letters, written about this time, carefully avoids, as Lanson pointed out, choosing between Newton and Descartes. 1 " In 1730 also Voltaire appended a note to a passage of the Henriade that might be interpreted as too favorable to Newton, saying " whether one admits the attraction of Mr. Newton or not it is certain that the celestial globes approaching and separating in turn seem to attract and repel one another." 38 3 7 Lanson, Gustave, Voltaire, pp. x x x v i i - x x x v i i i . 88

V I I I , p. 170.

Lettres

La Henriade,

philosophiques,

vol. i, introduction,

1715-1723, Chant 7.

" Ces astres, asservis à la loi qui les presse, S'attirent dans leurs courses, et s'évitent sans cesse, Et, servent l'un à l'autre et de règle et d'appui, S e prêtent les clartés qu'ils reçoivent de lui." Note of Voltaire, 1730. " Q u e l'on admette ou non l'attraction de M . Newton, toujours demeure-t-il certain que les globes célestes, s'approchant et s'éloignant tour à tour, paraissent s'attirer et s'éviter."

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Voltaire makes a good deal of fuss about these Philosophical Letters," much more so than about the work he is fondest of at the time, the Charles XII.*0 They are promised in May 1732, 41 and again in J u l y " and December " while they are published only in the spring and summer of 1733—four years after his return to France.*4 The work on the final draft was done at Fontainebleau between the fall of 1732 and February, 1733." In September, after dashing off Zaire in twenty-two days, he expects to finish the letters in a month at most,44 but when the month elapses he finds he needs expert assistance and sends the following letter to the eminent French scientist Maupertuis who had returned from England himself in 1728, an enthusiastic Newtonian: 47 Reading books of philosophy without being a philosopher, I have recourse to you in my doubts. . . . The question is concerning Newton's great principle of attraction. To whom can I turn better than to you, sir, who understand it so well, who are even working on his philosophy, and who are so well-fitted to confirm its truth or prove its falsehood ? . . . I send you my little memoir . . . and await your reply to know if I should 89 Letters concerning first edition.

the English

Nation

is the English title of the

«0 X X X I I I , p. 204, letter 207, 30 Jan., 1731, to Cideville. « X X X I I I , p. 264, letter 262, 13 May, 1732, t o Thieriot. « X X X I I I , p. 275, letter 270, 9 July, 1732, to Thieriot. « X X X I I I , p. 318, letter 302, Dec., 1732, t o Formont. " X X X I I I , p. 335, letter 327, 21 April, 1733, t o Cideville; X X X I I I , P- 349, letter 340, 10 June, to Cideville; X X X I I I , p. 359, letter 348, 15 July, 1733, to Cideville. I n this last letter Voltaire says that twenty-four Letters have already appeared in London. « » X X X I I I , p. 291, letter 282, Sept., 1732, t o F o r m o n t ; X X X I I I , p. 325, letter 313, 24 Feb., 1733, to T h i e r i o t ; Lanson, Gustave, Voltaire, Lcttres philosophiques, vol. i, p. x x x i x . 46 47

X X X I I I , p. 291, letter 282, Sept., 1732, to Formont.

X X X I I I , p. 298, letter 285, 30 Oct., 1732, to Maupertuis; cf. p. 31, note 74.

infra,

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believe in attraction or not. My faith depends on you, and if I become as sure of this system as I am of your merit, I shall be the most staunch Newtonian in the world. The papers are quite evidently completed and, despite the flattering phrases, Voltaire is more than half converted. Otherwise why should he write to an avowed Newtonian instead of Mairan or the Cassini who had opposed the new theory? N o r is the exaggerated flattery a mere complimentary gesture. Voltaire needs a double g i f t f r o m Maupertuis—assurance that he is not acting rashly in preaching Newtonism and aid in understanding details. Maupertuis seemed glad to assist, for the next letter is enthusiastic. 4 " You have cleared away my doubts with the most luminous clarity: Eehold me a Newtonian of your kind; I am your proselyte, and I make my confession of faith with my hands in thine. . . . I will only have had the good fortune to have been instructed before the others, and to become the first neophyte. One cannot help believing in Newtonian gravity, and one must proscribe the chimera of the vortices. The more I try to grasp this philosophy, the more I admire it. One finds at each step that this universe is arranged by mathematical laws which are eternal and necessary. Who would have thought fifty years ago that the movement of the stars and weight were both due to the same power ? Who would have suspected the refraction and other properties of light discovered by Newton ? W h a t a pity this " luminous " letter has not been preserved nor the one which followed it and which " c o n f i r m e d " Voltaire in the " Newtonian religion " until he was ashamed of all his doubts. 49 T h e doubts are two-fold, one about the lunar proof of the theory of gravity, the other about the 46

X X X I I I , p. 298, letter 286, 3 Nov., 1732, to Maupertuis.

«» X X X I I I , p. 302, letter 288, 8 Nov., 1733, to Maupertuis.

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reflection of light. The moon left to herself, asks Voltaire, would fall more than fifteen feet a second (without projectile force acting against gravitation). Thus the proportion between the squares of the distance does not exist; thus it is not the same power which acts on bodies in our atmosphere and at the same time holds the moon in its orbit.50 So much for the first doubt. The second is even more significant of the limited knowledge Voltaire possessed and of his dependence on Pemberton, for he asks if it is true that Newton thinks light is not reflected by the bounding back of shafts of light from the surface of objects. Pemberton, Voltaire adds, says plainly on page 239 that light is reflected from above the surface of objects, and " he does not seem to have imposed on his master." 51 Will Maupertuis please elucidate the matter? Voltaire is a Newtonian convert now. His scientific studies have carried him a little further than the days when he described the pale sun to Fontenelle. Now he himself is planning to spread the gospel to the ignorant.82 That he shares their ignorance is very truth and no mere phrase, as his very elementary questions indicate. But he does not overestimate his accomplishments as yet. The scientific part of the Philosophical Letters contains, he writes, " a little precis of Newton's philosophy." 58 He has enlivened the dryness of the subject in accordance with the tastes of the French, for alas, though this is said to be a philosophical century, only two hundred copies of Maupertuis' Discourse on the Shape of the Stars have sold, a work by a master hand and not the feeble attempt of a school-boy like M

X X X I I I , p. 300, letter 287, 5 Nov., 1733, to Maupertuis.

51

X X X I I I , p. 319, letter 305, 1732, to Maupertuis.

52

X X X I I I , p. 319, letter 305, 1732, to Maupertuis.

«* X X X I I I , p. 306, letter 292, Nov., 1732, to Formont; X X X I I I , p. 364, letter 351, 24 July, 1733. to Thieriot.

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Voltaire." Thus is lack of success and hostile criticism forestalled. Maupertuis is told that the book is the result of a few disconnected hours of work filled with a thousand distractions of which bad health is the chief." To Formont 54 and Thieriot," on the other hand, who did not know as much science, Voltaire writes of busy hours of reading—splitting his head over Newton and boring himself with Descartes. Madame du Châtelet, knowing how worried he is about these letters in an unfamiliar field, tells Maupertuis that Voltaire was very flattered that people thought he had had a part in them." The publishing of the Philosophical Letters marks the end of Voltaire's first course in physics. There had been no lack of teachers or texts. The works of the great seventeenth century physicists, Huygens, Hooke, Barrow, to say nothing of Descartes and Newton, were available. If these primary sources proved too difficult, there were many excellent secondary works. Indeed the first thirty years of the eighteenth century saw an amazing number published, explaining the physics of Newton in detail and indicating the contributions of the other scientists. The works of Gregory,59 Keill 6 0 and Desaguliers 81 in England were of this 61

X X X I I I , p. 348, letter 339, June, 1733, to Formont. " X X X I I I , p. 299, letter 286, 3 Nov., 1732, to Maupertuis. 56 X X X I I I , p. 306, letter 292, Nov., 1732, to Formont. « X X X I I I , p. 325, letter 313, 24 Feb., 1733, to Thieriot. 68 Lettres de la Marquise du Châtelet réunies pour la première fois sur les autographes et les éditions augmentées de trente-sept lettres entièrement inédites, de nombreuses notes, d'un index et précédées d'une notice biographique, par Eugene Asse, Paris, Charpentier, 1882, p. 1 1 . »» David Gregory, 1661-1708, said to be the first to lecture publicly on Newtonian physics, who wrote in 1695 Catoptricae et Dioptricae Elemcnta for students ; and 1702 Astronomiae Physica et Geometrica Elementa, of which an English edition appeared in 1726 and one with an appendix by Desaguliers in 1735. 40 John Keill, 1671-1721, (a brother of the writer on physiology, James Keill) who wrote An Examination of Dr. Burnet's Theory of the Earth

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description, and those of Gravesande " and Musschembroek 8 3 in Holland. Finally there were the superficial in 1698; an answer to criticism of this work in 1699; 'he Introductio ad Veram Physicam in 1701, the Introductio ad Verant Astronomiom in 1718. 6 1 John Theophilus Desaguliers, 1683-1744, a physicist of French descent whose father had fled from France after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes and settled in England. H e published Physics: Mechanical Lectures in London in 1717, translated Gravesande's Physices Elemento Mathematica in 1721 ; wrote A Course in Mechanical and Experimental philosophy in French and English, 1724; An Experimental Course of Astronomy (a syllabus) in 1725; A Course in Experimental Philosophy in 1734; a Dissertation on Electricity (which received a prize given by the University of Bordeaux in 1742) ; and translated the second edition of Gregory's Catoptrics, I734-I73S82 William Jacob Gravesande, 1688-1742 wrote Physices Elemento Mathematica, Experimentis Confirmata; Sive Introductio ad Philosophiam Newtoniam, 2 vols., The Hague, 1720-1721 (a second edition in 1725, a third including de Evidentia in 1742, English 1721 by Desaguliers, French 1746 by Joncourt) ; Philosophiae Newtonianae Institutions in Usus Academicos, Leyden, 1723 (subsequent editions 1728, 1742 and 1744) ; Matheseos Universalis Elemento, quibtu Accedunt specimino commentant in Arithmeticam Universalem Newtonii, ut et de Determinando Forma Seriei Infinitae Adsumtae Regula Novo, Leyden, 1736. H e also published in the Journal Littéraire, " Essai d'une nouvelle théorie sur le choc des corps fondée sur l'expérience " ; " Remarques sur la force des corps en mouvement et sur le choc, précédées de quelques réflexions sur le manière d'écrire de M. le Docteur Samuel Clarcke " ; " Fasciculus epistolarum Mathematicarum J. Poleni " ; " Nouvelles expériences sur la force des corps en mouvement, précédées d'une réponse à la dissertation sur la force des corps". A l l of the latter group and some other miscellaneous works are collected in Les Oeuvres philosophiques et mathématiques de S'Gravesande, by J. S. Allemand, Amsterdam, 1774. Both the Physices Elemento, 1725-1731 and the Oeuvres of 1774 were in Voltaire's library. 8 3 Pierre van Musschembroek, 1692-1761, (younger brother of the Jean Musschembroek who made so many mechanical devices for Gravesande) wrote in 1718 De Aeris Praesentio in Humoribus Animolium; in 1723 De Certo Methode Philosophiae Experimentalis; in 1726 Introductio ad philosophiam Naturalem (two French translations were made ,one of the second Dutch edition by Massuet in 1735 and one of the last Latin edition by Sigaud de la Fond in 1769; Dissertationes Physicae Experimentalis et Geometricae 1729; De Methodo Instituenda Expérimenta Physices

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treatments such as Pemberton's," the summary of Newton's ideas in Fontenelle's Éloge de Newton85 and the book of Maupertuis which has already been mentioned.8® Moreover Voltaire had had an opportunity to hear the ideas of Clarke, the Newtonian annotator of Rohault, of Pemberton, of Berkeley, and to receive aid from Pemberton and Maupertuis. 47 Certainly on turning to the three scientific letters in Voltaire's book we might expect a serious contribution to the subject, however brief. But he chose rather to skim the cream of the easier books, whip it into an attractive form and present it to the French public which he thought had a taste for such fare. 48 His estimate proved to be correct, for his summaries were very popular while, as has been said, the simple accurate work of Maupertuis sold only two hundred copies. 49 The reason for this popularity is not far to seek. As the preface to the English edition stated,' 0 " even the most serious Letters, such as those which relate to Sir Isaac (French by Deslandes in his Recueil of 1736) ; 1731 Tcntamina Expcrimentorum Naturalium Captorum in Accidentia del Cimento ; in 1732 De Astronomiae Praestantia et Utilitate. 44 Cf. supra, p. 24. " Oeuvres de Fontenelle, Paris, Salmon, 1825, vol. ii, p. 181 et seq. 48

Cf. supra, p. 27. " Lanson, Gustave, " Voltaire et les lettres philosophiques ", in Revue de Paris, 1908, vol. iv, pp. 505-533. In this article a most interesting analysis of Voltaire's method of writing is made. Lanson finds that he was taught Newtonism by Maupertuis (p. 507) but that " il est actuellement impossible et le sera probablement toujours de connaître avec la dernière précision toutes les sources des Lettres de Voltaire Sur les Anglais (p. 510) . . . les faits quotidiens et les conversations ont peutêtre plus fourni que les livTes " (p. 5 1 1 ) . « » X X X I I I , p. 556, letter 528, 30 Nov., 1735, to Abbé Olivet; X X X I V , p. 279, letter 759, 20 June, 1757, to Pitot. «» Cf. supra, p. 27 ; X X X I I I , p. 335, letter 327, 2 April, 1733, to Cideville. 70 Letters concerning the English Nation by Mr. De Voltaire, London, C. Davis and A. Lyon, mdcxxxiii, Preface.

London,

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Newton's philosophy, will be found entertaining." These " most serious letters " were therefore sugar-coated and inserted among others which the publishers said were " not designed for the public." They are the " Result of the Author's Complacency and Friendship for Mr. Thieriot, who had desir'd him, during his stay in England to favor him with such Remarks as he might make on the Manners and Customs of the British Nation." With these alluring remarks and Voltaire's name on the title page many could be induced to buy the book and afterwards could spread the tale of its interest and charm, and assure others that the reading of it would require no undue mental effort. In France, besides appealing to casual readers by the pleasant variety of its subject matter, the piquancy and simplicity of its style, and the ever-fascinating pretense of telling how other nations live, the volume was fortunate enough to " venir au monde à propos an essential requisite according to Voltaire. A s Grimm said years later, and as Voltaire himself noted in 1735, French society was given to fads 72 and " Maupertuis had brought geometry into fashion; the women were all bit by a passion for the society of geometricians and it was the height of bon ton to have them among the parties at all suppers." " Newtonian physics was taking an important place in French thought. Maupertuis there too was in the van, having led the young academicians in revolt against the Cartesians T * T1

Lanson, Gustave, Voltaire, p. 50; X X I I , p. 101.

MHistorical

and Literary Memoires and Anecdotes Selected from the Correspondence of Baron de Grimm and Diderot with the Duke of SaxeGotha, London, Colburn, 1814, 2 vols., vol. i, p. 11 and p. 134. '» Ibid., vol. i, p. 150. Grimm, op. cit., vol. i, p. 106. Desnoiresterres, Gustave, Voltaire et la société française au XV11le siècle, vol. iv, p. 271, quotes La Beaumelle's Vie de Maupertuis, Paris, 74

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and having published as we have already noted, his Discourse on the Shape of the Stars in 1732. Experiments were popular as entertainments, for by 1734 Abbé Nollet was teaching the Dauphin, and Reynault said that " physics was welcome everywhere even at the court." " Naturally a society with such tastes would enjoy the " serious letters ". Nor can we give Voltaire credit for having started this vogue since it seems to have been growing steadily since the beginning of the century. Fontenelle's Discourse on the Plurality of the Worlds though Cartesian, had served as the first impetus in popularizing physics for society, and Maupertuis* winning ways with the ladies and what Grimm calls his " charlatanism " turned many in the Newtonian direction. The Baron de Breuil is quoted in Pluche's Spectacle of Nature, which appeared in 1732, as writing to de Jonval that " everybody hereabouts has become a philosopher." 76 Madame du Châtelet herself knew Maupertuis well in 1730." It is therefore likely that Voltaire, who was 1856, p. 33, as follows : " Pour venger Newton et lui-même, il entreprit de faire, par une espèce d'artifice, une révolution que la raison seule aurait faite trop lentement. Les jours d'assemblée, il donnait à diner à quelques newtoniens, qu'il menait au Louvre pleins de gaîté, de présomption et de bons arguments. Il les lâchait contre la vieille académie, qui désormais ne pouvait ouvrir la bouche sans être assaillie par ces enfants perdus, ardents défenseurs de l'attraction. L'un accablait depigrammes les cartésians, l'autre de démonstrations. Celui-ci prompt à saisir les ridicules, copiant d'après nature les gestes, les mines, les tons, répondait aux raisonnements des adversaires en les répétant. Celui-là, n'opposant qu'un rire moqueur aux changements qu'on faisait au système ancien, soutenait que le fond du système était atteint et convaincu d'être vicieux. Cette petite troupe était animée de l'enjouement quelquefois caustique de son chef." " Mornet, Daniel, Les Sciences de la nature en France au XVlIle siècle, un chapitre de l'histoire des idées, Paris, Colin, 1911, pp. 87 and 93. T4

Ibid., p. 1.

" Desnoiresterres, Gustave, Voltaire et la société française au XVIIIc siècle, vol. ii, p. 49; Lettres de la Marquise du Châtelet. . . . Eugene Asse,

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cordially received in this family upon his return from E n g land, was encouraged by them to seek Maupertuis' aid in the fall of 1 7 3 2 and was spurred on thus to renewed enthusiasm for Newtonian physics which he had not mentioned in his correspondence since 1 7 2 7 . " Voltaire

himself

remarks

with

considerable

petulance

upon this passion for scientific pursuits which he notices especially on his return to Paris in April 1 7 3 5 after the notice biographique, p. x. X, Épitre XXXIX, to Madame du Châtelet. " Vous renoncez aux étincelles, Au feux follets de mes écrits, Pour des lumières immortelles ; Et le sublime Maupertuis Vient éclipser mes bagatelles." X, p. 84, to Madame du Châtelet. " Sans doute vous serez célèbre Par les grands calculs de l'algèbre Où votre esprit est absorbé : J'oserai m'y livrer moi-même Mais, hélas! A + D — B. N'est pas = à je vous aime." 18 Cf. supra, p. 23. Brunet, Pierre, L'Introduction des théories de Newton en France au XVIIle siècle, Paris, Blanchard, 1931, vol. i, Avant 1738, divides this period as follows: (1) 1700-1720. First influences and Cartesian resistance (Villemont, Saurin, Poleni and the Cassini refute the Newtonian doctrine advanced in a less reserved form than Newton used by Cotes in his prcface to the second edition of the Principia.) ; (a) 1720-1728. Preliminaries of the debate (Keill, Gravesande and the Coste translation of the Optics appear on the Newtonian side as well as Le Nouveau cours de chimie suivant les principes de Newton et de Stahl, 1723, while Hartsoeker defends Descartes and Fontenelle in his Éloge de Newton tactfully parallels the two doctrines) ; (3) 1728-1732. The effort of the great Cartesians (Bulfinger, Molières, Mairan and Regnault) ; (4) 17321735- The first Newtonian works (Maupertuis' Discours, and Voltaire's Lettres anglaises) ; ( s ) 1735-1737. The preparation of the great controversies (Deslandes' Recueil appearing when most of the scientists had a Cartesian tendency. This tendency is shown in the works of duFay on electricity, in Fontenelle's writings, in the course of Privât de Molières and, of course, in the works of Cassini and the younger Bernoulli).

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enforced absence of over eight months spent partly in Brussels, partly in France, which followed his illegal publishing of the Philosophical Letters:79 Verses are no more in style at Paris. Everyone is beginning to play the geometer and the physicist. People meddle with reasoning. Sentiment and imagination and grace are banished. . . . It is not that I am annoyed that Philosophy is being cultivated, but I do not wish it to be a tyrant excluding all others. In France one style succeeds another indefinitely, but no art and no science should be a mere fad. They should all join hands and all be cultivated at the same time. . . . I do not want to pay a tribute to fashion; I want to pass from an experiment of physics to an opera . . . and to keep my taste from ever being dulled by study. Perhaps he is a little out of patience at the close attention given by the Marquise du Châtelet to her geometrical friends, Maupertuis and Clairaut. 80 Perhaps also it is trying to find only a little over a year after you published your gospel to the ignorant that the ignorant have been enlightened by the same expert who taught you. This ideal of passing easily from one pursuit to another was certainly fulfilled during the summer of 1735. Voltaire writes from Vassi : 8 1 Metaphysics, a little geometry, and physics, have their regular time with me, but I am cultivating them without any definite end in view and consequently rather indifferently. My chief employment at present is the Age of Louis XIV . . . it is my favorite sultana, the others studies are mere caprices. 78 X X X I I I , p. 489, letter 474, 16 April, 1735, to Cideville. sterres, Gustave, Voltaire et la société française du XVlIIe France, vol. ii, p. 48.

Desnoiresiècle en

80 Lettres de la Marquise du Châtelet . . . Eugene Asse. biographique, pp. ix-x. » 1 X X X I I I , p. 502, letter 486, 26 June, 1735, to Cideville.

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T h e " caprice " of physics impressed him at Vassi nevertheless, for he described the equipment in detail: 8 2 I have been at the court of Lorraine, but you can easily guess that I have not been a courtier. There is an admirable establishment for the sciences, little known and still less cultivated. It is a large room completely furnished with new experiments of physics and particularly with all that confirms the Newtonian system. There are about ten thousand crowns worth of machines of all kinds. A simple locksmith turned philosopher and sent to England by the late Duke Leopold, has made by hand most of these machines, and shows them off splendidly. There is nothing equal to it in France, and all that it has in common with what is done in France is the negligence with which it is regarded by the little court of Lorraine. . . . I must tell you however . . . to the honor of the ladies, that Madame de Richelieu took the course of physics in this room; and that she has become quite a good Newtonian. In the years which immediately followed, when Voltaire and Madame du Chátelet settled in Cirey, his letters are full of arrangements for the place. Everything from E n g lish brass locks to swans is ordered, while Louis XIV is still his favorite piece of work 83 and he still does not see why " the study of physics should crush the flowers of poetry." 84 H e does indulge in a work on metaphysics, later incorporated into the Elements of the Philosophy of Newton but written originally for Madame du Chátelet. In it V o l taire says, " A l l the philosophy of Newton leads necessarily to the knowledge of a superior being who has created everything, arranged everything freely." 85 The proof of the «2 X X X I I I , p. 500, letter 485, 25 June, 1735, to Formont. »» X X X I I I , p. 512, letter 497, 24 Aug., 1735. to Abbé Olivet. « X X X V , p. 19, letter 943, 20 Oct., 1738, to Abbé Olivet. 85 X X I I , p. 403, Élémcnts de la philosophic de Newton, part I ; Métaphysique in 1741 edition. (First published in 1740.)

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existence of this being—the productive intelligence, the sublime artist, the eternal geometer, 86 — is Plato's argument from design : " Y o u may judge that I have an intelligent soul, because you perceive order in my speech and in my action: judge then in seeing the order in this world that there is a supremely intelligent soul." 87 However, though we know that there is an infinitely skilful artisan 8 8 and that his sole will is the sufficient cause of many things, we cannot know his characteristics, 88 and although we can believe in free-will for man 80 and in natural religion — the moral principles common to mankind 9 1 — w e cannot know what the soul is.*2 A l l this might belong to one of those works of " science sermoneuse " which Mornet says V o l taire so scorned that he was the " choir-master " of their critics. 93 T h e use of science as a handmaid of religion was certainly frequent in this time. Nieuwentyt, 94 Derham, 95 88 X X V I I I , p. 440, Lettre à Metnius, 1771 ; X L I X , p. 576, 6 April, 1776, to M. Dionis du Séjour. 87 X X I I , p. 405-406, 1740. 88

X X I I , p. 404, p. 411.

8® X X I I , p. 407. »0 X X I I , p. 412. »1 X X I I , p. 419. 9 1 X X I I , p. 422. " Newton était persuade comme presque tous les bons philosophes, que l'âme est une substance incompréhensible ; et plusieurs personnes qui ont beaucoup vécu avec Locke m'ont assuré que Newton avait avoué à Locke que nous n'avons pas assez de connaissance de la nature pour oser prononcer qu'il soit impossible à Dieu d'adjouter le don de la pensée à un être étendue quelconque."

Mornet, Daniel, Les Sciences de la nature en France au XVIlIe p. 66. M

84 Nieuwentyt, Bernard, L'Existence veilles de la nature, Amsterdam, 1760.

siècle,

de Dieu demontrée par des met1st edition in Dutch, 1725.

9 5 Derham, William, Astro-theology; or a demonstration and attributes of God from the survey of the heavens, (French 1729) and Physico-theology ; or a demonstration and attributes of God from his ivorks of creation, London,

of the being London, 1714 of the being 1713.

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Scheuchzer " multiplied their theological or sacred physics. God was continually being glorified by listing the newly discovered wonders of nature and geological theories were being evolved to prove the flood. And it is true that Voltaire was full of scorn for this tendency in the Christian writers, but he did not divorce science from his own deism, maintaining in this article that " the metaphysician ought always to conduct the geometrician." " In this he followed Clarke, the Clarke of the discussion with Leibniz over freewill, more than Newton. Not that Newton did not express many of these ideas, but they were subordinated in every way to the purely scientific parts of his work. Voltaire, on the other hand, found metaphysics important enough to discuss in the first part of his book on Newton. Despite the studious life of Voltaire and Madame du Châtelet at Cirey they found time to entertain many interesting guests.98 Clairaut and Maupertuis came, of course. Clairaut was then at the height of his career. In 1 7 3 7 he wrote on the Apparent Aberration of the Stars caused by the Progression of Light. In 1739 he published a paper comparing the Cartesian and Newtonian explanations of light. In 1743 appeared his famous Theory of the Shape of the Earth,™ a work considered by Berry as more com98

Scheuchzer, Johann Jacob, Physica Sacra, Augustae Vindelicorum, 1732-1737, 4 vols. (French 1744). Cf. Katherine Brownell Collier, Cosmogonies of Our Fathers, New York, 1934. « X X I I , p. 435. Lanson, Gustave, Voltaire, pp. 63 and 70. "Pour Voltaire et son amie, la métaphysique est l'introduction à la physique, Dieu est la première vérité de la physique . . . Il (Voltaire) laïcise la métaphysique." •»For further information on the life of Voltaire and Madame du Châtelet at Cirey, 1736-1749 see the works of the following authors listed in the bibliography at the end of the volume : Gustave Desnoiresterres, Françoise de Graffigny, Frank Hamel, André Maurel. •• The titles of these works in French are : " De l'aberration apparente des étoiles causée par le mouvement progressif de la lumière ", in Mémoires

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plete than Newton or MacLaurin, 100 and by Maury as the " Propylea of the celestial mechanics of L a Place." 1 0 1 Maupertuis, too, was doing important work in these years.102 From 1 7 3 3 to 1 7 3 9 he published each year a memoir on some phase of the question of the shape of the earth which was so fascinating a problem to the men of the early eighteenth century. In 1740 he wrote the Elements of Geography, in 1741 a Discourse on the Parallax of the de l'Académie des Sciences, 1737, pp. 205-223; " S u r les explications cartésiennes et newtoniennes de la réfraction de la lumière," in Mémoires de l'Académie des Sciences, 1739, pp. 259-275 ; Théorie de la figure de la terre tirée des principes de l'hydrostatique, Paris, 1742. Later well known works of Clairaut are : " Exposition abrégée du système du monde tirce des principes de Newton " in Principes mathématiques de la philosophie naturelle, Paris, Desaint and Saillant, Lambert, 1759, 2 vols. (Madame du Châtelet's translation) ; Théorie des comètes, Paris, 1760. 100 Berry, Arthur, A Short History of Astronomy, New York, Scribners, 1899. 101 Maury. L . F . A., " L'Ancienne académie des sciences, Paris, Didier, 1864. 102

The titles of Maupertuis' works are : " Observations et expériences sur une des espèces de salamandre ", in Mémoires de l'Académie des Sciences, 1727, pp. 27-49 ; " Expériences sur les Scorpions in Mémoires de l'Académie des Sciences, 1731, pp. 223-240; " S u r les lois de l'Attraction " , in Mémoires de l'Académie des Sciences, 1732, pp. 343-356 ; " Sur la figure de la terre et sur les moyens que l'astronomie et la geographie fournissent pour la déterminer " in Mémoires de F Académie des Sciences, 1733. PP- 1 5 3 - 3 1 3 ; " S u r les figures des corps célestes", in Mémoires de l'Académie des Sciences, 1734, pp. 54-341 ; three articles " Sur la figure de la t e r r e " in the Mémoires of 1735, p. 96, 1736, p. 302, 1737, P- 389; La Figure de la terre déterminée par les observations de MM Clairaut, Camus, Le Monnier, Outhier, Celsius, au cercle polaire, 1738; Examen désintéressé des différentes ouvrages sur la figure de la terre, 1738; Examen de trois ouvrages de Desaguliers sur la figure de la terre, 1739 ; strictly mathematical works on curves in Mémoires de l'Académie des Science, 1727, pp. 340 et seq., 1728, pp. 225-273 ; and many purely mathematical works in the Mémoires de l'Académie des sciences, of 1724, 1726, 1727, 1728, 1729, 1730, 1731, 1732, 1733 in these early years. A f t e r he went to Berlin many articles appeared in the Memoirs of the Academy of Berlin from 1746-1755.

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Moon, in 1742 the Letter on the Comet, in 1744 the Dissertation on a White Negro, and in 1745 the Physical Venus.10' Both these men went on the expedition to the polar circle in 1736 whose purpose was to verify the conclusions of Newton and Huygens that the earth was slightly flattened at the poles. Another visitor to Cirey was La Condamine who visited Peru for the same reason that the others went to the polar circle. Still another was Helvetius, a lesser personage in the world of science, but one who, under the influence of a visit to England and a profound admiration for Maupertuis,104 had become a Newtonian and had even translated a work of Newton.108 There was another guest, the very young Algarotti, who added his contribution to Voltaire's scientific education. For Émilie du Châtelet said that it was he who first inspired Voltaire to write his Elements of the Philosophy of Newton,109 and we have a letter of Voltaire's which shows a desire to emulate him. " We have here," 10T wrote Voltaire to Thieriot, " the Marquis Algarotti, a young man who knows the languages and customs of all countries, who writes verses like Ariosto and who knows his Locke and his Newton; he reads us some dialogues which he has written on the most interesting parts of the philosophy; I, who write to you, I also have taken my little course in metaphysics, because it is necessary to render an account to 103

The titles of these works in French are : Éléments de géographie, 1741-1742; Discours sur la parallaxe de la lune, 1741 ; Lettre sur la compte, 1742; Dissertation sur un nègre blanc, 1744; Venus physique, 1745. 104 Keim, Albert, Helvétius, sa vie et son oeuvre d'après ses ouvrages divers et des documents inédits, Paris, 1907. Dissertation of U. of Paris. 105 La Méthode des fluxions et des suites infinies. 504 Lettres de la Marquise du Châtelet . . . Eugene Asse, p. 328, letter 136, 17 Feb., 1739, to Richelieu. XXXIII, p. 546, letter 520, 3 Nov., 1735, to Thieriot; XXXIV, p. 143, letter 656, 10 Oct., 1736, to Berger.

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oneself of the things of this w o r l d . " clever.

T h e y o u n g man w a s

Émilie as well as V o l t a i r e is enthusiastic at

first

about him, 1 0 8 though they both r e f e r to his frivolity and lack of information later

109

when Voltaire's book upon a

like theme is published at the same time as the ism

for

the Ladies}1"

Newton-

Doubtless V o l t a i r e w a s a w a r e that

he could improve on the w o r k s of A l g a r o t t i

which aped

Fontenelle's style and did not credit the ladies with much intelligence. T h e r e w e r e various other things to be done first h o w ever, plays, and disputes w i t h publishers, literary quarrels and a l w a y s the Louis

XIV.

In M a r c h , 1 7 3 6 however, V o l -

taire asked his agent Moussinot to send him an almanac,

the Connaissance des temps; Cassini's History of Astronomy;

111

certain volumes of the memoirs of the A c a d e m y

of Sciences; and, in J u l y a f t e r his return f r o m Paris, the 108 Lettres de la Marquise du Châtelet . . . Eugene Asse, p. 77, letter 46, 4 Jan., 1736. 108

X X X I V , p. 48s, letter 872, 22 May, 1738, to Maupertuis. " Il y a comme de raison, plus de tours que de pensées et de pensées que de vérités." X X X I V , p. 47s, letter 867, 14 May, 1738, to Berger. " Quand M. Algarotti me lut ses Dialogues sur la lumière, je lui donnai l'éloge qu'il méritait d'avoir répandu infiniment d'esprit et de clarté sur cette partie de la physique; mais alors il avait peu approfondi cette matière. L'esprit et les agréments sont bons pour des vérités qu'on effleure: les dialogues des Mondes qui n'apprennent pas grand-chose, et qui, d'ailleurs, sont trop remplis de la misérable hypothèse des tourbillons, sont pourtant un livre charmant, par cela même que le livre est d'une physique peu recherchée, et que rien n'y est traité à fond, mais si M. Algarotti est entré, depuis notre dernière entrevue à Cirey, dans un plus grand examen des principes de Newton, son titre per le Dame ne convient point du tout, et sa marquise imaginaire devient assez déplacée." 110

Algarotti, François d ' I l Newtonianismo per le dame, overo Dialogki sopra la luce e i colori, Napoli, 1737. (French by Duperron de Castera as Le Newtonisme des Dames, 1738.) " i X X X I V , p. 62, letter 585, 25 March, 1736.

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Physics of Musschembroek. 111 From then on physics fills the letters. He writes to Frederick the Great about Wolff, 11 * to Pitot de Launy of the Academy of Sciences for advice and mentions reading Descartes' Dioptrics with Madame du Châtelet," 4 and to Mairan, who is " made to give light " to him, of various problems.115 Thieriot who is always given a more-than-favorable impression of his friend's achievements, is called Père Mersenne—a name flatteringly suggestive in itself—and asked in September if he is equal to reading a little Voltairean treatise on Newton, easier to understand than Pemberton. 119 Voltaire pictures himself to Berger kneeling before a newly arrived Newton " as is only proper ", 117 and to Cideville as sacrificing to Newton although possessing chapels for lesser divinities.118 These lesser gods are perhaps " basins of porcelain, apartments in yellow and silver, niches with Chinese idols, all of which take a great deal of time." 119 Then there is always " a comedy; after a comedy some geometry; after the geometry, the philosophy of Newton." 110 Nor is poetry neglected, for the Ode on Newton is sent to friends in October.121 This poem gives such an excellent summary of Voltaire's attitude to science in 1738 that it is well to quote it in its entirety here : i " X X X I V , p. 9 6 , letter 6 2 2 , 1 6 July, 1 7 3 6 . « » X X X I V , p. 1 0 8 , letter 6 3 T , 2 6 Aug., 1 7 3 6 . " • X X X I V , p. 1 1 2 , letter 6 3 4 , 31 Aug., 1 7 3 6 . « » X X X I V , p. 1 6 1 , letter 6 7 7 , 9 Nov., 1 7 3 6 ; X X X I V , p. 1 7 8 , letter 692, i Dec., 1 7 3 6 . "J'abuse de vos bontés, monsieur; mais vous êtes fait pour donner des lumières, et moi pour en profiter." « • X X X I V , p. 1 1 4 , letter 6 4 7 , S Sept., 1 7 3 6 . « 7 X X X I V , p. 1 3 7 , letter 6 5 1 , Sept., 1 7 3 6 . « » X X X I V , p. 1 3 6 , letter 650, 2 5 Sept., 1 7 3 6 . « » X X X I V , p. 153, letter 666, to Thieriot. 120 X X X I V , p. 1 8 3 , letter 6 9 5 , 8 Dec., to Cideville. X, p. 299. Epître XLV.

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Épître XLV à Madame la Marquise du Châtelet Sur la Philosophie de Newton. " Tu m' appelles à toi, vaste et puissant génie, Minerve de la France, immortelle Émilie Je m'éveille à ta voix, je marche à ta clarté Sur les pas des Vertus et de la Vérité. Je quitte Melpomène et les jeux du Théâtre, Ces combats, ces lauriers, dont je fus l'idolâtre; De ces triomphes vains mon coeur n'est plus touché Que le jaloux Rufus à la terre attaché, Traîne au bord du tombeau la fureur insensée D'enfermer dans un vers une fausse pensée ; Qu'il arme contre moi ses languissantes mains Des traits qu'il destinait au reste des humains ; Que quatre fois par mois un ignorant Zôile Élève en frémissant une voix imbécile : Je n'entends point leurs cris que la haine a formés, Je ne vois point leurs pas dans la fange imprimés : Le charme tout-puissant de la philosophie Élève un esprit sage au-dessus de l'envie ; Tranquille au haut des cieux que Newton s'est soumis, Il ignore en effet s'il a des ennemis : Je ne les connais plus. Déjà de la carrière L'auguste Vérité vient m'ouvrir la barrière : Déjà ces tourbillons, l'un par l'autre pressés, Se mouvant sans espace, et sans règles entassés, Ces fantômes savans à mes yeux disparaissent. Un jour plus pur me luit ; les mouvements renaissent L'espace qui de Dieu contient l'immensité Voir rouler dans son sein l'univers limité, Cet univers si vaste à notre faible vue, Et qui n'est qu'un atome, un point dans l'étendue Dieu parle ; et le chaos se dissèpe à sa voix ; Vers un centre commun tout gravite à la fois. Ce ressort si puissant, l'âme de la nature

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Était enseveli dans une nuit obscure; Le compas de Newton mesurant l'univers, Lève enfin ce grand voile, et les cieux sont ouverts. Il déploie à mes yeux par une main savante De l'astre des saisons la robe étincellante ; L'éméraude, l'azur, le pourpre, le rubis, Sont l'immortel tissu dont brillent ses habits : Chacun de ses rayons dans sa substance pure Porte en soi les couleurs dont se peint la nature ; Et, confondus ensemble, ils éclairent nos yeux, Ils animent le monde, ils emplissent les cieux. Confidens du Très-Haut, substances éternelles, Qui brûlez de ses feux, qui couvrez de vos ailes Le trône où votre maître est assis parmis vous Parlez; du Grand Newton n'étiez-vous point jaloux La mer entend sa voix. Je vois l'humide empire S'élever, s'avancer vers le ciel qui l'attire Mais un pouvoir central arrête ses efforts ; La mer tombe, s'affaisse, et roule vers ses bords Comètes que l'on craint à l'égal du tonnerre, Cessez d'épouvanter les peuples de la terre : Dans une ellipse immense achevez votre cours ; Remontez, descendez près de l'astre des jours ; Lancez vos feux, volez : et, revenant sans cesse, Des monde épuisés ranimez la vieillesse. Et toi, soeur du soleil, astre qui dans les cieux Des sages éblouis trompais les faibles yeux ; Newton de ta carrière a marqué les limites, Marche, éclaire les nuits ; tes bornes sont prescrites. Terre change de forme ; et que la pesanteur En abaissant le pôle élève l'équateur. Pôle immobile aux yeux, si lent dans votre course, Fuyez le char glacé des sept astres de l'ourse : Embrassez dans le cours de vos longs mouvemens Deux-cent siècles entiers par de là six mille ans.

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Que ces objets sont beaux ! Que notre âme épurée Vole à ces vérités dont elle est éclairée. Qui, dans le sein de Dieu, loin de ce corps mortel, L'esprit semble écouter la voix de l'Éternel. Vous à qui cette voix se fait si bien étendre Comment avez-vous pu, dans un âge encore tendre, Malgré les vains plaisirs, ces éceuils des beaux jours, Prendre un vol hardi, suivre un si vaste cours ? Marcher après Newton dans cette route obscure Du labyrinthe immense où se perd la nature? Puisse-je auprès de vous, dans ce temple écarté, Aux regards des Français montrer la vérité ! Tandis-qu'Algarotti, sûr d'instruire et de plaire Vers le Tibre étonné conduit cette étrangère, Que de nouvelles fleurs il orne ses attraits, Le compas à la main, j'en tracerai les traits: De mes crayons grossiers je peindrai l'immortelle ; Cherchant à l'embellir, je la rendais moins belle. Elle est, ainsi que vous, noble, simple, sans fard, Au-dessus de l'éloge, au-dessus de mon art. This paean was being enjoyed by Voltaire's friends even before he tried to get Pitot to correct his Elements.12On meeting with only partial success in this request he starts to make other arrangements, 123 when a furor aroused by the Mondain makes it wiser for him to flee to Holland. The publishing of the Elements affords a splendid excuse for this abrupt departure 124 and besides he can write everyone that he has gone to Leyden to seek the assistance of Gravesande for his work and of Boerhaave for his health.125 X X X I V , p. 154, letter 667, 24 Oct., 1736, to Berger. > X X X I V , p. 167, letter 682, 19 Nov., 1736, to d'Argens. Les Lettres de la Marquise du Châtelet . . . Eugene Asse, p. 105, letter 62, Dec., 1736, to d'Argental, and p. 160, letter 73, Feb., 1737, to d'Argental. X X X V , p. 200, letter 709, 17 Jan., 1737, to Thieriot; X X X I V , p. 205, letter 712, 27 Jan., 1737, to d'Argental; X X X I V , p. 210, letter 717, 4 Feb., 1737, to Thieriot. 12!

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Since his last visit the fame of the Dutch Newtonians has grown in France. Boerhaave had been made a member of the Academy of Sciences in 1731, and his student Musschembroek, who had also worked in England, had published his physics lectures in 1726 and his longer text in 1736. French students had made their way to Holland; L a Mettrie, who was to publish a great deal on Boerhaave's works, in 1733, du Fay, the student of electricity, in 1734, and Nollet in 1736, the same year as Voltaire. 124 Gravesande was still writing texts and teaching at Leyden. Thus were the Elements of the Philosophy of Newton started but they were to know many vicissitudes. The first edition came out in 1738 and was made up of the parts left in Holland in the winter of 1736-1737 and some additions by another hand. 1 " Voltaire, incensed at this, busily denounced the edition,128 and a corrected one appeared in 1741, 129 another with further corrections in 1748,"° and still a third in 1756. 131 Various people had had a hand in it : 1 2 6 Brunet, Pierre, Les Physiciens hollandais et la méthode expérimentale en France ou XVIIIe siècle, Paris, Blanchard, 1926, chap. ii. 127

Note of Beuchot, X X I I , p. 397.

X X X I V , p. 476, letter 869, 18 May, 1738, to Pitot; letter 767, 14 May, 1738, to B e r g e r ; X X X I V , p. 560, 1738, to Frederick I I ; X X X I V , p. 449, letter 849, April, X X X I V , p. 489, letter 876, 5 June, 1738, to Theiriot. absurde édition."

X X X I V , p. 474, letter 928, Aug., 1738, to B e r g e r ; " Une fautive et

1 3 8 This contained the Metaphysics as Part i, and the work of 1738 as Parts ii and iii (in 14 and 16 chapters respectively) with comments of Voltaire in place of the parts done by the Dutch mathematician. 1 3 0 In this edition chapter fourteen of the second part on the relationship between sound and sight, and chapters ten and eleven of the third part on geology and a cycle of two million years in earth history, were omitted. 1 3 1 More chapters were omitted this time;—the twelfth, thirteenth and fourteenth of the third part discussing the heavenly bodies and adhesion. The cause of these omissions as Beuchot pointed out was the discovery of various errors and the fact that Voltaire preferred to delete rather than to rewrite.

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Madame du Châtelet, of course, 132 Pitot de Launy certainly, as Voltaire said he " examined it with care and found it exact enough " , 1 M although he was more pleased with the planetary system than with the part on light, 134 and Gravesande who, however, saw comparatively little of it considering that he was the excuse for the visit to Holland. 1 " Frederick the Great reported the sharp criticism Gravesande made on the 1738 edition, 138 but Voltaire easily took for granted that the criticism applied to the editors and continuators, not to himself, and told Frederick so. 137 A biographer of the Dutch Newtonian who knew him well says that Gravesande admired the facility with which Voltaire expressed ideas and regretted the faults of the first edit i o n . 1 " These are the men whose aid Voltaire himself acknowledged, but certainly Clairaut and Maupertuis gave much inspiration earlier and taught him a great deal, though they were away on their Arctic expedition while he was writing his book."® A s with the Philosophical Letters, Voltaire is at considerable pains to give his own estimate of his work. In the book itself he s a y s : 1 4 0 « » X X X I V , p. 219, letter 721, Feb., 1737, to Frederick. " M a d a m e du Châtelet avait sa part à l'ouvrage, Minerve dictait et j'écrivais." « » X X X I V , p. 401, letter 822, 25 Jan., 173«, to Thieriot; X X X I V , p. 403, letter 823, Jan., 1738, to Maupertuis; X X X V , p. 29, letter 951, 30 Oct., 1738, to M. L e Franc. « * X X X I V , p. 473, letter 866. Isa Allemand, Jean Nicolas Sebastien, Oeuvres philosophiques et mathématiques de Mr. G. J. SGravesande . . . Amsterdam, mdcctxxiv, Preface liv. « « X X X I V , p. 549, letter 916, 6 Aug., from Frederick I I . X X X I V , p. 560, letter 928. is« Allemand, Jean Sebastien, Oeuvres philosophiques preface liv. 137

de

« » X X X I V , p. 507, letter 886, 23 June, 1738, to Thieriot. « « X X I I , p. 438.

SGravesande,

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My chief end in the study I am about to make is to render a clear account to myself and perhaps to a few readers of some primitive laws of nature which Newton discovered. We will try to make these understandable to those who know Newton and philosophy by name only. T o Pitot, the scientist, he says the same thing, referring to his feeble information and adding that he wrote " for people without either knowledge or prejudice. . . . I am come not for the wise but for the ignorant to which class I have the honor to belong." 141 In a mood of mock humility he gives an amusingly accurate picture." 2 I have an instinct which makes me love truth but it is only an instinct and your light will conduct me. . . . I am like those brooklets that are transparent because they are not deep. I have tried to present the ideas as they entered my head. I know the history of the science of which I write and that part will be read with the least distaste, I think. But the details of calculations tire and embarass me even more than they will annoy ordinary readers. It is for these cruel details that I have recourse to your algebraic and indefatigable head; mine weary and ill finds it difficult to weigh the sun. However exaggerated Voltaire may secretly feel this to be, it was surely written to forestall criticism, just as he had written similar humble phrases concerning his earlier book. It is also clear that he felt he had a gospel to bring to the ignorant. By ignorant he means " whoever has made passable studies and exercised his spirit by reflection " 1 4 8 or 1 4 1 X X X I V , p. 271, letter 754, 29 March, 1737, to Pitot. " Cet ouvrage n'est guère fait que pour ceux qui n'ont ni science ni préjugés. . . . Je ne suis pas venu pour des sages, mais pour le peuple ignorant dont j'ai l'honneur d'être " ; X X X I V , p. 256, letter 747, 17 May, 1737, to Pitot. 142

X X X V , p. 279, letter 759, 20 June, 1737, to Pitot.

143

X X X I V , p. 474, letter 876, 14 May, 1738, to Berger.

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even " the man who is the least trained and most inimical to mathematical studies." 144 He believes that such people can understand his book easily but " if one should imagine that it can be read between the opera and supper one would be deeply mistaken: it is a book to study." Indeed in this consistent insistence upon the public for which the book is meant Voltaire shows us how shrewdly he had estimated the new trend toward " popular science " which we found him appreciating when Fontenelle wrote his Mondes with the purpose, according to a preface to the sixth English edition, " to give encouragement to gentlewomen by the example of one of their own sex who without any supernatural parts or tincture of learning understands what is said to her." 145 Nowhere is this brought out more clearly than in Voltaire's Explanations:148 I have not plunged into geometric details; I wrote for those who having no time to emphasize these matters, still have a spirit clear enough to comprehend the result. The number of this type of mind is larger than is thought. It is true that this book is not for everybody despite the seductive title which the editors gave it but if it is not for everybody it is for a large number. I have made people who are not geometricians understand not only the theory of light but that of gravity. Besides this accurate evaluation of the public to whom his book would appeal and by whose increased information he wished to be judged, Voltaire makes it clear that he "merely repeats what the savants wrote ". 14T T h e names of Keill, Gravesande, Pemberton, Musschembroek are freely dis" ' • X X X V ' , p. 423, letter 1267, 25 April, 1740, to Cideville. 1 , 5 Preface to the sixth edition in English of the Plurality by Fontenelle with an address by Addison, July 7th, 1693.

X X I I , p. 272. 117

X X X V , p. 2-3, letter 940, 1738, to Maupertuis.

of

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persed in his letters and books in casual groupings of the lesser and the greater. 14 ' This serves a three-fold purpose— acknowledgment of sources, additional weight to statements which might not be taken seriously on the word of a poetic amateur of the sciences, and protection from criticism by those quick to shout heresy. From the foregoing remarks it would seem that Voltaire's claims to scientific achievements were of the most modest. There were however two other statements made by him that were less justifiable and more ambitious. The first was that his Elements takes the place of Pemberton's or MacLaurin's book in English and Gravesande's or Musschembroek's in Dutch as an elementary text in Newtonian physics. His writings are full of complaints that France boasts no such texts.14* The second was that he was the first in France to champion Newton's theories. In later years in his autobiographical memoirs he added " in intelligible language " 1 5 0 but even in 1768 he insisted to Thieriot—it would be to Thieriot ! — " I am after all the first in France who disentangled these matters, and I dare say the first anywhere because Gravesande spoke only to mathematicians and Pemberton often muddled Newton." 151 " » X X X V , p. 219, letter 1105, 13 May, 1739, to M. ; X X X V , p. 387, letter 1169, 21 June, 1739, to d'Argens ; X X X I V , p. 524, letter 897, July, 1738, to Prévost; X X X V , p. 13, letter 940, 1738, to Maupertuis. In this letter Voltaire quotes the different estimates of Keill, Huygcns, Newton, Gravesande and Pemberton on the diameter of the sun, adding that the truth would be known only in 1761 during the transit of Venus and that he had therefore taken a convenient average of their estimates. " • X X X I I I , p. 556, letter 528, Nov., 1735, to Abbe Olivet; X X X V , p. 28, letter 951, 20 Oct., 1738, to LeFranc; X X X I I I , p. 520, letter 503, 1735, to Pere Tournemine; X X X I V , p. 264, letter 751, 27 May, 1738, to Frederick. p. 21. « 1 X X X I V , p. 507, letter 886, 23 June, 1738, to Thieriot; X X X V , p. 25, letter 950, 29 O c t , 1738, to Burigny ; X X X V , p. 26, letter 971, 30 Oct., to LeFranc.

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The work on the Elements and the pleasant notion he and Emilie 1 5 2 had formed of its function made Voltaire more ambitious. He would attempt some real scientific investigation and not content himself with popularizing. Success might open the gates of the Academy of Sciences, a very nice compensation f o r the continued reluctance of the French Academy to admit him. A s f a r back as 1 7 3 6 he had written to Moussinot that he wished to know the subject the Academy had suggested for its contest. A friend of his wished to compete and did not care to make inquiries himself. Would Moussinot inquire, for if Voltaire wrote someone might think that he was the person and such an attempt " would suit neither his age nor his slight erudition ", 1 5 3 A f t e r his Dutch visit age and lack of erudition were disregarded and Moussinot was bombarded with requests for instruments of research instead of diamond buckles, cosmetics, feather-dusters and such things which were the usual commissions given him. June 1 7 3 7 seemed to be a very busy month. On the tenth, four concave glasses, two pounds of lead are de182 Desnoiresterres, Gustave, Voltaire et la société française au XVIIIe siècle, vol. ii, p. 152 quotes an article supposed to be by Madame du Châtelet, published in the Mémoires pour l'histoire des sciences et des arts, 1738, Article 91, pp. 673-674, Journal de Trévoux, which says : " Monsieur de Voltaire parut enfin, et aussitôt Newton est entendu ou en voye de l'être; tout Paris retentit de Newton, tout Paris bégaye Newton, tout Paris étudie et apprend Newton." This article appeared in August and in September an article appeared in the Journal des Sçavans (quoted in Desnoiresterres, op. cit., vol. ii, p. 534) which Trublet said was also by Emilie saying : " Il semble qu'il manquait à la gloire de Monsieur Newton que d'être plus connu. L a plus grande partie du monde sçavant lui avoit rendu depuis longtemps ses hommages, mais la philosophie hérissé de calculs et d'algèbre, étoit une espèce de mystère auquel les seuls initiés avoient droit de participer, et Monsieur de Pemberton qui a voulu rendre Newton accessible au commun des lecteurs en Angleterre est souvent aussi difficile à entendre que Newton même. Cette espèce de miracle étoit reserve à Monsieur