法国相遇牛顿——牛顿引力理论给法国带来的冲击

France Encounters Newton——The Shock of Newtonian Gravitational Theory to France

18世纪,牛顿的学说通过伏尔泰传播到了法国,并与君临大陆的笛卡儿哲学相遇,从而使法国人首次感受到数学和哲学相分离的牛顿思维的优势;他们在崇拜笛卡儿天才的同时却把笛卡儿学说的废墟踩在了脚下。法兰西科学院的院士们继承了牛顿的遗产,并在牛顿《原理》的基础之上完成了划时代的伟大著作《分析力学》和《天体力学》;牛顿的理性精神对法国的人文及其它众多学科产生了巨大冲击。

In the 18th century, Newton＇s theory spread to France through Voltaire and encountered the philosophy of Rene Descartes, which had been in Ascension to the Throne. It was the first time that French people had felt the advantages of Newton＇s thinking separation of Mathematics and Philosophy. They adored the genius of Rene Descartes and at the same time got rid of the ruins of his theory. Academicians of France Academy of Science inherited Newton＇s legacy, and based on Newton＇s Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica they finished the great epoch-making works Mecanique A naltique and Mecanique Celeste, Newton＇s rational spirit had brought a great shock to France humanistic and many other subjects.