The book that put the publication of “Principia Mathematica”, the revolutionary work of Isaac Newton that laid the principles of modern physics

Illustration of an elongated fish, with an open mouth showing sharp teeth — Photo foot, The book was faithful to the scientific revolution, which laid the basis of the Enlightenment by emphasizing reason, empirical observation and scientific method.

- Author, BBC News World
- Author's title, Writing
2 hours

In the seventeenth century there was an eagerness by certain intellectuals to correct human knowledge.

There was much to know valuable accumulated, but in certain areas it was mixed with legends and inaccuracies.

So they considered necessary reviews to try to purify and establish data verified, based on observation and classification.

Two of those who dedicated themselves to such a task were the British John Ray, a distinguished botanist, and his student Francis Willughby, ornithologist and ichthologist.

Both agreed to reform the study of natural history.

The first part of the plan was to embark on a trip to collect specimens, participate in studies and buy books and illustrations.

Between 1663 and 1666 they toured Europe together, and returned to England loaded with information.

They put themselves in the task of processing it, first for a publication of a colleague, and then for their own works.

But in 1972 Willughby died, leaving two books unfinished.

Ray, in an act of friendship, took the pen and completed them.

The first, Ornithologiae Bookwas published with money from Willughby's widow.

The second did not have that support, but with the sponsorship of the Royal Society of London for the advancement of natural science.

An elite group had founded it in 1660 to devote itself to natural philosophy, which we would call science today, collecting information, observing the world, doing experiments, discussing its results and publishing them.

Flying fish illustration — Photo foot, Although the work in which this fish appeared is practically forgotten, it was considered a pioneer at the time.

With her, the botanist expected to offer a new natural history of fish.

According to him, the natural history suffered from a multiplication of species, due to vague or incomplete descriptions that turned out that a single animal appeared as if it were many different.

To remedy it, he looked for characteristic marks and turned away from the traditional definition of fish, which used to be aquatic animal or any animal that lives in the water.

Its definition was descriptive: animals that had skinless skin and fins, that had no feet and were not able to live freely or for a long time without water.

Thus, creatures such as crocodile and hippo, which had been classified as fish, ceased to be.

That was not the only innovation.

His strong emphasis on morphology was differentiated from other previous works, which were rather about the therapeutic uses of fish, and detailed how to fish and cook them to eat them or turn them into medicines.

Great expectations

When Ray finished the text in 1684, work with the Royal Society began, which not only invested economic resources, but also intellectuals.

Numerous members contributed to review, corrected and supplement for months to refine every detail, not only of written information but also of the visual.

And is that the work History of fishor “fish history”, was profusely illustrated with sumptuous – and extremely expensive – recorded, all financed thanks to the efforts of the members of the Royal Society.

Ray was very pleased with the images, and convinced that the “beauty and elegance” of the 189 engravings would attract buyers.

And, although it has been said that the formidable intelligence of the members of the Royal Society was not a guarantee of a good business criteria, to be fair, they had reasons to believe it.

A few decades before, an extraordinary work had shown what could be achieved with exquisite engravings.

Two tulips, red and yellow — Photo foot, One of the many exquisite images of *Hortus Eystettensis.*

Hortus Eystettensisof the doctor and botanist Basilius Besler, was a monumental book on beautifully enlightened plants that had revolutionized botany by raising it to new artistic and scientific heights.

When the book went on sale in 1613, after 16 years of research and production, it was so successful that Besler earned enough money to buy a house in an elegant neighborhood in Nuremberg for just five copies, yes, of the special edition colored by hand.

So dreaming that a book pioneer scientifically on fish and beautifully enlightened would be well received did not seem to be so disattured.

Nonetheless…

While some of those outstanding minds of the Royal Society were concentrated in the water, others disturbed what happened in the heavens.

Astronomer Edmond Halley was in pursuit of a solution to an issue that would change the story.

He had emerged in the middle of a conversation he held in early 1864 with scientist Robert Hooke and architect Sir Christopher Wren, as Gale Christianson, author of “Isaac Newton and the scientific revolution” (Oxford, 1996) tells.

Halley had suggested that the force of attraction between the planets and the sun decreases in inverse proportion to the square of the distance between them.

If true, the orbit of each planet should have the shape of the Kepler ellipse, which is similar to a soccer ball, although somewhat more rounded.

They agreed that it could be so, but that the problem was to find the mathematical media to prove it.

After months of elucubration without solution, Halley decided to consult the hermit Isaac Newton.

At that time, Newton lived in Cambridge and had become the perfect model of the clueless teacher.

He forgot to eat, slept little, did not comb his long hair, rarely came out of his office and did nothing but work.

But to Halley's surprise, he was glad with his visit, and when he revealed her reason, he received an accurate response.

When asking what kind of curve the planets would describe assuming that the force of attraction to the sun was reciprocal to the square of his distance to him, Newton replied, without hesitation, that it would be an ellipse.

“I've calculated it,” he said.

That was precisely what was needed: the mathematical demonstration.

Unfortunately, Newton could not find his notes at that time, but promised to rebuild them and send them to Halley.

It took more than expected because, instead of recreating what has already been calculated, it solved the problem using a mathematical method other than the previous one.

But three months later, a 9 -page manuscript arrived in London. The moving bodies in the rotation (On the movement of bodies in rotation).

Halley, aware that it was the mathematical basis of a general science of dynamics, hastened to ask Newton if he could present him to the Royal Society, and publish it.

After learning by the mouth of Halley of the good news, the members of society urged to publish the brief work as soon as possible.

But by then, Newton already conceived By Motu as the germ of his masterpiece, and preferred to delve into the matter before publishing.

First edition of Principia. — Photo foot, “Since I am occupying this issue,” Newton wrote to Halley, “I would like to get to the back of the matter before publishing my articles.” In doing so, he created *Principia*.

After 18 months of intense work, in April 1686, Newton presented and dedicated to the Royal Society the first third of Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy (Mathematical principles of natural philosophy).

The order to print it was given within one month.

Only …

The enthusiasm for Newton's work crashed into a great obstacle.

The same month in which Principia He arrived at the Royal Society, History of fish He was ready for publication and went on the market, at a price of around US $ 270.

He reflected the high cost of production and then as now, it was a luxury article, one in which very few were interested.

To say that it was a sales failure is to fall short.

Not even the fact that a few months later prices were substantially reduced.

The Real Sociedad stayed with so many unveiled volumes that began to use them as payment currency.

A manta and two more fish — Photo foot, Despite its commercial failure, today it is a valuable resource not only for fish historians, but for those who appreciate their excellent illustrations.

On the verge of bankruptcy, he could not fulfill the promise of supporting the publication of Newton's work, in which this scientist had achieved a milestone:

By projecting gravity through the void, he joined physics and astronomy in a single science of matter in motion, fulfilling the dreams of Pythagoras, Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo and innumerable others, as Christianson points out.

Fortunately Halley managed to raise the funds to ensure that this fundamental book for modern science saw the light in 1687, putting most of his own pocket money, as he was the son of a rich soap manufacturer.

His admiration for the author was reflected in the first edition of Principiawhich included his “Ode to Newton”, in which he invited “to celebrate with me in Canticle the name of Newton, loved by the muses; he revealed the hidden treasures of truth.”

He ends up stating: “No mortal can get closer to the gods.”

Despite how fundamentals he was Halley for the publication of Principiashortly after the launch, Real Sociedad was forced to suspend its position as secretary.

He could not pay his annual salary, nor reimburse the money for financing Newton's book.

They paid what they owed with leftover specimens of History of fish.

Sketch in watercolor labeled as the comet of 1532, originally bound in a 16th -century dating book. The kite is represented with a straight tail and shows resting in front of the clouds in the sky. — Photo foot, The Great Comet of 1532 that was observed for 119 days. When studying their movements in the sky, Halley concluded this and another of 1661 were the same comet.

It should be noted that Principia Nor was it an immediate sales success.

Like all the scientific books of the time, it was written in Latin, and it was not easy to read.

It is said that after its publication, Newton crossed in the street with a student who commented: “There goes the man who wrote a book that neither he nor anyone understands.”

To get rid of some of the many without selling copies, Newton turned to donate them to libraries of universities and schools.

However, an investigation, published in 2020he discovered that the first edition of the book achieved a surprisingly broad distribution throughout the cultured world.

That indicates that it probably had a stronger impact on the science of the illustration that was thought.

In any case, it would become a scientific colossus, to decipher the universe with the discovery of gravity and laws of planetary movement, and establish a research method that became the gold standard.

Halley, meanwhile, would later use the laws of Newton's movement to calculate for the first time the orbit of a kite that would later receive his name.

E History of fish It would be forgotten almost by time, remembering as the book that almost prevents the publication of Principia.