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I'm trying to find PDFs or hard copies of the following works from the dawn of calculus. Does anyone know where I could find English translations of them?

  • Newton - De analysi per aequationes numero terminorum infinitas (1669)
  • Leibniz - Nova Methodus pro Maximis et Minimis (1684)

I can't seem to find them (in any language) on Google or Amazon.

UPDATE: It appears you can buy an 8-volume set of Newton's works for about $100 per volume here: http://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/mathematics/historical-mathematical-texts/mathematical-papers-isaac-newton but unfortunately much of it is in Latin. I did find De analysi though - in Volume IV: http://books.google.com/books?id=AQ3tveOwseoC&pg=PR17&source=gbs_selected_pages&cad=3#v=onepage&q&f=false.

And here's the Leibniz work (in Latin again): http://books.google.com/books?id=FSM1AAAAIAAJ&dq=leibniz%20maximis&pg=PA220#v=onepage&q=leibniz%20maximis&f=false.

So now it only remains to find the books in English. I hope translations exist.

UPDATE #2: This site has a bunch of historical works available for download: http://gallica.bnf.fr/Search?ArianeWireIndex=index&p=1&lang=EN&q=Newton%2C+Isaac (Still mostly Latin, but some of the older stuff is in English too.)

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  • $\begingroup$ Here's another free (Latin) copy of Newton's text: newtonproject.sussex.ac.uk/view/texts/normalized/NATP00204 $\endgroup$
    – user7530
    Apr 3, 2014 at 6:49
  • $\begingroup$ Thanks. And I just found a great resource for all kinds of math historical treasures that I'm adding above. $\endgroup$
    – AmadeusDrZaius
    Apr 3, 2014 at 6:51
  • $\begingroup$ Hmm.. turns out that the gallica site looks more comprehensive than it is. Still looking for stuff in English but I'm increasingly becoming certain that translations don't exist. $\endgroup$
    – AmadeusDrZaius
    Apr 3, 2014 at 6:59

2 Answers 2

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Leibniz's Nova Methodus was translated into English in

A source book in mathematics, 1200–1800. Edited by D. J. Struik. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass. 1969

See pages 271–281 there.

Also, I see that https://archive.org/ has not been mentioned yet so I thought I would post it. I found many historical works there that I have not found elsewhere.

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  • $\begingroup$ Thanks, that's just what I was looking for! Too bad it's barely in print. And yeah, archive.org has some great stuff. $\endgroup$
    – AmadeusDrZaius
    Apr 3, 2014 at 18:46
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    $\begingroup$ @AmadeusDrZaius, if you are currently working on Leibniz you may be interested in this recent text. $\endgroup$
    – Mikhail Katz
    Apr 4, 2014 at 7:46
  • $\begingroup$ Interesting article - thanks for the tip! It also led me to this book on some of Leibniz's earliest work: archive.org/details/TheEarlyMathematicalManuscriptsOfLeibniz $\endgroup$
    – AmadeusDrZaius
    Apr 5, 2014 at 21:33
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    $\begingroup$ A fine collection of translations by Child. Note however that he omits an important word when he translates the law of homogeneity in Cum Prodiisset (for which he gives an incorrect date), and also makes a number of errors in Leibniz's formulas. $\endgroup$
    – Mikhail Katz
    Apr 6, 2014 at 12:57
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I've just downloaded it on my website:

http://www.metaphilo.fr/Maths/Leibniz%20-%20Nova%20Methodus.pdf

(the website is itself heavily under work). All credits to Bern for the scan!

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