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Barton, William. "Observations on the Probabilities, etc. Observations sur la probabilite de vie et sur le progres de la population dans les Etats Unis d'Amerique." in "Bibliotheque Britannique, ou Recuell extrait des Ouvrages Anglais periodiques et autres." Geneva, Imp. De la Bibliotheque Britannique, 1797, volume 4, in the Science et Arts series. 368pp. Paper-covered boards and spine. There is a little wear and rubbing to the boards, though overall the binding is quite nice. VERY GOOD. The text is very crisp and bright. [++] The "Bibliotheque Britannique" provided translations of significant and important papers (mostly extracts, or reviews, though with some complete article translations) that were written primarily in English and then translated into French to reach a wider audience in Europe many of these translations were the first exposure to the papers on the Continent. Many of the leading lights were published here including Jenner, Davy, Thomson, Wollaston, Waterhouse, Gay-Lussac, Pictet, and many others. The journal was active 1796-1815 after which it changed direction somewhat and renamed "Bibliotheque Universelle". For more on the significance on the BB, see: "The Transmission of Culture in Western Europe, 1750-1850: Papers Celebrating the Bicentenary of the Foundation of the 'Bibliothèque britannique' (1796-1815) in Geneva" by David Bickerton and Judith Proud. [++] This volume contains (among other things): Barton, William. "Observations on the Probabilities, etc. Observations." This is the translation of Barton's early work on life expectancy, mortality, longevity, and other social measures, published in English in the USA as "Observations on the Progress of Population and the Probabilities of the Duration of Human Life in the United States of America" pp 34-58 and 304-330. Richard Kirwan, "Elements of Mineralogy, etc. Elemens de Mineralogies. the translation of the second edition of volume 1 published in 1794; pp 109-127; Everard Home, "The Croonian Lecture, etc. Lecons sur la mouvement musculaire" from the Philosophical Transactions 1795, pp 136-161 (under the running title of "Experiences sur la Vision"); William HERSCHEL, "On the Method, etc. de la maniere d'observer les changemens qui arrivent aux etoiles fixe." pp 206-230, a translation of the review of Herschel's Phil Trans 1 January 1796, "On the method of observing the changes that happen to the fixed stars; with some remarks on the stability of the light of our sun". And the following, which may actually be the most significant paper here, the famous Newton and Bentley correspondence on God and gravitation: NEWTON/Bentley. "Four Letters, etc. Quatre Lettres de Sir Isaac Newton au Dr. Bentley, contenant quelques argumens en preuve "d'une Divinite" pp 89-109 with the running title of "Theologie Physique"). French translation of the famous exchange between Bentley and Newton. The first Boyle lecturer was the theologian Richard Bentley (1662-1742), who would eventually become the Master of Newton s alma mater, Trinity College, Cambridge. When preparing his lectures for publication they had been presented to a public audience in London in 1692 Bentley conferred with Newton, hoping to solicit his help in deciphering enough of the Principia to use its results as a bulwark against atheism. Newton obliged, and a famous correspondence between the two began [and published in 1756]. The exchange is of great philosophical interest, for Bentley elicited a number of important clarifications that have no peer within Newton's published oeuvre --the great Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy online.
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