Self-Translation of Mathematical Texts in Seventeenth-Century France: The Cases of Pascal, Mersenne and Hérigone

This study investigates self-translation – the process of producing a second version of a text in another language – as it relates to three pairs of mathematical works created in Latin and French in mid-seventeenth-century France: Pierre Hérigone’s Cursus mathematicus and Cours mathématique, Marin Mersenne’s Harmonicorum libri and Harmonie universelle, and Blaise Pascal’s treatises on the Arithmetic Triangle. The investigation uses case-study methodology and self-translation research as a framework to examine why and how the three scholars produced bilingual versions of their texts, and does so against the background of the most significant contemporary social and historical factors. As research into pre-twentieth-century non-literary self-translation, it examines material and practices that have largely fallen outside the most frequently investigated areas of self-translation research. The study shows that the most common reasons for writing bilingual works in France during the period in question were related to the emergence of new and changing audiences. This was particularly attributable to the changing relationship between Latin and French: the early seventeenth century was a time of flux, where French was gradually taking over from Latin in French scholarly writing and was the language of the scientific cabinets, attended by an increasingly educated populace, while, at the same time, Latin was consolidating its position as the language of the pan-European Republic of Letters. Many French scholars who wished to maximise their audiences, both within France and across Europe, chose to write their works in Latin, slightly more opted for French, while others, including the case-study scholars, chose to compose their books in both languages. Other, more individual factors were involved in the case-study authors’ decision to self-translate, including the desire to develop ideas, teach mathematics and compose a significant musical work for as large an audience as possible. The different types of text composed by the three mathematicians and their differing motivations led to a range of approaches to self-translation and a variety of outcomes. Some features of the bilingual works are common to all three case studies, including the use of French mathematical terminology derived from its Latin equivalents, a desire to accommodate different audiences for the texts in the two languages, and the use of rhetoric, including ‘mathematical rhetoric’, in both Latin and French

Translating Early Modern Science (Volume 51)

Translating Early Modern Science explores the roles of translation and the practices of translators in early modern Europe. In a period when multiple European vernaculars challenged the hegemony long held by Latin as the language of learning, translation assumed a heightened significance. This volume illustrates how the act of translating texts and images was an essential component in the circulation and exchange of scientific knowledge. It also makes apparent that translation was hardly ever an end in itself; rather it was also a livelihood, a way of promoting the translator’s own ideas, and a means of establishing the connections that in turn constituted far-reaching scientific networks

Marin Mersenne: Minim Monk and Messenger; Monotheism, Mathematics, and Music

If you have taught a number theory course or even watched the mathematical news, you know that occasionally a new (and enormous) “Mersenne prime” is discovered. Those who have introduced students to the prehistory of calculus may know of a certain Marin Mersenne as the interlocutor who drew Fermat and Descartes (and others) out to discuss their methods of tangents (and more). But who was Mersenne, and what did he actually do? This presentation will give an overview of his times, his role in the history of science, and his own writings. We’ll especially look into why a monk from an order devoted to being the least of all delved so deeply into (among other things) exploratory mathematics, practical acoustics, and defeating freethinkers

Mathematics and its Ancient Classics Worldwide: Translations, Appropriations, Reconstructions, Roles (hybrid meeting)

The workshop analyzes the constitution, recovery, and role of the classical texts in mathematical practice throughout history. It aims at problematizing the notion of "classic", to make it a historical category and to study the rhetorical, pedagogical, and institutional mechanisms that contribute to secure the status of classic to specific texts. So far, the focus of the historiography has dealt mostly with Greek classics and their impact on Western European societies. We aim to expand the focus of our enquiry culturally and chronologically in two ways. We want to address the reception and transformation of these "classics" outside Europe in different historical periods. We are particularly interested in the roles played by this classical tradition within Islamicate societies, South-East and East Asia. Secondly, we are interested in the ancient mathematical writings in Arabic, Chinese, Sanskrit and other languages that, at certain time periods in these other parts of the world and elsewhere, were perceived as classics. Widening the focus should allow us to inquire into questions such as: what did classical texts mean for various types of actors? How were they available to them? How did they read them? In the contexts of which institutions and with which expectations? The important role classical works have played in mathematical history pose deep methodological questions with far-reaching implications for the history and philosophy of mathematics. In mathematics conceptual and methodological innovations are thought to be legitimized only by appeal to mathematical arguments and consistency. Yet, legitimation has involved in many crucial episodes giving a prominent role to classical works. The mathematical classics have repeatedly been the source and grounds for new ideas and techniques. There is therefore a deep, complex tension between innovation and tradition. We are interested in how innovation has often been legitimized by re-reading old texts, concepts, and methods-old texts whose principles and methods were utterly different from the ones they contributed to sustain. What can this teach us about the nature of mathematical argument, and mathematical practice