Translating Newton's Principia – Newton's Principia: Translation, Beneath the Surface
Before turning to consider the fundamental insights that gave rise to The Principia, I want to touch on the question of how we approach a treatise on Mathematical Physics that was written over 200 years ago. This is a matter that concerns the reader as well as the translator. Some translators seek to transport the reader to the time and place of the writer, and some to translate the writer into the time and place of the translator. It makes no sense to ask for a translation of The Principia as Newton might have written it had he lived today. But there are problems with trying to transport ...
Source: principia.blog