Principia - Newton's revolutionary book
Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica - often referred to as simply the Principia - is a book published by Isaac Newton in 1687. It is regarded as one of the most important works in the history of science.
Principia expounds Newton's laws of motion and his law of universal gravitation. The book is written in Latin and is in three volumes.
French mathematical physicist Alexis Clairaut described its importance and influence in 1747: "The famous book of Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy marked the epoch of a great revolution in physics. The method followed by its illustrious author Sir Newton ... spread the light of mathematics on a science which up to then had remained in the darkness of conjectures and hypotheses."
Or as Alexander Pope put it in 1730:-
“Nature and Nature's laws lay hid in night:
God said, Let Newton be! and all was light.”
After annotating and correcting his personal copy of the first edition, Newton published two further editions, in 1713 and 1726.
Quite a large number of the first edition copies still exist - some say around 500. Newton's own annotated copy is at Cambridge University Library. Many other copies are within the UK, the Anglosphere, Switzerland and Scandinavia.
Just in case you want to check your attic, a first edition sold for $3.7 million in 2016.
Further reading
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