| RefNo | MS/82/14 |
| Level | Item |
| Title | Letter, from [Pierre Remond de] Montmort to [Brook Taylor], dated at Paris |
| Date | 12 April 1716 |
| Description | Addressed to Taylor at Childs Coffee House near St Pauls London.
Discusses getting wine to Taylor, hoping that no custom officer will drink it as it's intended for "philosophical mouths and the beautiful mouth of Miss [Catherine] Barton". Comments at length on Barton's spirit and beauty, not only reputed as [Isaac] Newton's niece but for her charm.
Has sent Taylor's mathematical problem to Germany [on curves], adds his own solutions to "curious problems on trajectories" including some set by [Gottfried] Leibniz. Sends a mathematical riddle that he has solved using Taylor's series.
Would like to know why [Abraham de] Moivre no longer writes to him and what he made of his mathematical solutions, which would still need some corrections. Urges Taylor to be discreet in his enquiries. Accuses Moivre explicitly of having plagiarised his work in 'De Mensura Sortis' and could strike again in the second edition of the work. Finds the behavious more excusable in professional men, and therefore still loves Moivre.
Sending tender love and kisses. |
| Language | French |
| Extent | 4 pp. |
| Format | Manuscript |
| PhysicalDescription | Ink on paper |
| Place origin | Paris |
| Origin coordinates | 48.856667, 2.352222 |
| AccessStatus | Open |
| RelatedMaterial | Printed by Sir William Young in the appendix to the 'Contemplatio Philosophica' page 93 |
Fellows associated with this archive
| Code | PersonName | Dates |
| NA6093 | Taylor; Brook (1685 - 1731) | 1685 - 1731 |
| NA7789 | Montmort; Pierre Remond de (1678 - 1719) | 1678 - 1719 |