牛顿项目:《牛顿全集》在线出版项目评介

An Introduction to the Newton Project for the Online Publication of Newton's Opera Omnia

许多近代著名科学家都有全集出版,但是被视为近代最伟大科学家的牛顿却迟迟没有全集问世。这一方面是因为牛顿有关神学和炼金术的"非科学"手稿长期以来被视为不适合或不值得发表,另一方面也因为牛顿未公开的手稿太过庞杂(约900万词),编辑和出版的难度非常之大。20世纪末,随着学术界对牛顿研究的热情高涨以及数字出版时代的来临,英国"牛顿项目"应时启动,初步目标是整理、转录并在线发表牛顿浩繁的神学手稿,后来则将目标扩大为转录牛顿的所有手稿和著作,决定在线出版《牛顿全集》。经过16年的努力,牛顿项目取得了巨大成就,近500万词的神学手稿已基本转录完毕,科学手稿的转录编码工作正在有序推进,项目网站上的出版量已达640余万词,而且网上发布的手稿文本已与高清手稿图像建立了链接。文章首先简要回顾了牛顿手稿的流传及其出版历史,然后重点介绍了牛顿项目的历史和成就,最后探讨了牛顿项目对于西方以及中国的牛顿研究的意义。

Unlike many early modem scientists whose complete works have been published, Isaac Newton, often regarded as the greatest of them all, has not been honored with a true opera om- nia. This is mainly due to two reasons： one is that Newton＇s ＂unscientific＂ papers on theology and alchemy have long been deemed improper for or unworthy of publication, and the other is that Newton＇s manuscripts are too vast in quantity （ c. 9m words） and often too complicated in format to be produced in a modem printed edition. Towards the end of the 20th century, with the increasing academicinterest in Newton and the advent of Internet publishing, the Newton Project was launched in the UK with the immediate aim to make it possible, for the first time in history, to garner all Newton＇s theological manuscripts into a single, freely accessible online edition. This goal was later expanded to comprise the online publication of Newton＇s complete works, printed or unprinted, scientific or ＂unscientific. ＂ Having labored for 16 years, the Project＇s team has made great progress, with a total of 6. 4 million words transcribed so far. The transcription of theological manuscripts （c. 5m words） has nearly been completed, and that of Newton＇s scientific manuscripts is being carried on as planned. Besides, the transcribed texts on the site have been linked to the high-quality images recently released. After a brief survey of the history of Newton＇s manuscripts and the publication of his works, this paper gives a comprehensive introduction to the development and achievements of the Newton Project, ending with a discussion of the significance of the Project in terms of modern Newtonian studies in the West and in China.