| RefNo | MS/82/23 |
| Level | Item |
| Title | Letter from Abbé [Antonio Schinella] Conti to [Brook Taylor]; dated at Paris |
| Date | 14 July 1721 |
| Description | Addressed to Brook Taylor at Mr Vernon at the 'naked boy' near Ludgate.
Letter in two parts.
Has shared Taylor's letter [on the topic of the controversy with [Jean Bernoulli] with many, but not yet with [Pierre] Varignon. Suggests that the best course of action is not to get drawn into the controversy and carry on publishing good discoveries and publish good books.
Mentions [René] Descartes's irritation when reading [Antoine] Arnaud's objections.
Awaiting with impartience [Roger] Cote's publications and [James Stirling] Sterlin's method published in the Philosophical Transactions [Methodus differentialis Newtoniana illustrata, Phil. Trans. 1718].
Would like to hear from [Abraham de Moivre] 'Monsieur des Aiguilliers' as he has been silent for 3 years.
Sends [Isaac] Newton his respects, will send some lines of poetry he has written on his philosophy but has a more ambitious project to summarise his philosophy in four volumes. Will start on the project when his Drusius is finished [Tragedy, 'Druso' published eventually in 1748], is working on the second act and [Henry St John, Viscount of Bolinbroke] is supporting it.
Postscriptum mentions that Taylor's letter has now been shared with Varignon who still supports Bernoulli and underlines errors in his demonstration. Conti notes that [Varignon and Bernoulli] still do not know how to distinguish between the method of calculus and the idea of quantities.
Has shared the letter with [Giacomo Filippo] Maraldi, who dislikes Bernoulli and was scandalised. Promises that Taylor's letter will not leave his hands. |
| Language | French |
| Extent | 4pp. |
| Format | Manuscript |
| PhysicalDescription | Ink on paper |
| AccessStatus | Open |
| RelatedMaterial | DOI: 10.1098/rstl.1717.0066 |
Fellows associated with this archive
| Code | PersonName | Dates |
| NA6093 | Taylor; Brook (1685 - 1731) | 1685 - 1731 |
| NA6718 | Conti; Antonio Schinella (1677 - 1749); mathematician | 1677 - 1749 |