Emilie Du Châtelet

Though most historians remember her as the mistress of Voltaire, Emilie Du Châtelet (1706–49) was an accomplished writer in her own right, who published multiple editions of her scientific writings during her lifetime, as well as a translation of Newton’s Principia Mathematica that is still the standard edition of that work in French. Had she been a man, her reputation as a member of the eighteenth-century French intellectual elite would have been assured. In the 1970s, feminist historians of science began the slow work of recovering Du Châtelet’s writings and her contributions to history and philosophy. For this edition, Judith P. Zinsser has selected key sections from Du Châtelet’s published and unpublished works, as well as related correspondence, part of her little-known critique of the Old and New Testaments, and a treatise on happiness that is a refreshingly uncensored piece of autobiography—making all of them available for the first time in English. The resulting volume will recover Châtelet’s place in the pantheon of French letters and culture.

Selected Philosophical and Scientific Writings

Is passion dangerous and to be avoided? Can we really be fulfilled without love, and can a broken heart ever be repaired? Is friendship still possible once desire has diminished or gone? Can mean and vicious people be happy? Is ambition overrated and only for losers? Are possessions and great wealth a guarantee of happiness, or an obstacle to it? Should we care about our reputations or what others say about us? Does it matter what we leave behind us for future generations? Can women be as fulfilled as men, or vice versa?Madame du Ch�telet addresses these and other perennial questions in a style of prose that is at once warm, engaging, and uniquely her own. Drawing freely from her own joys, disappointments and present state of anguish, she encourages the reader to learn from experience and inevitable mistakes, and to confront the gifts and blows of life fearlessly, at every age. Though she writes in the mid-18th century, and in circumstances of relative comfort, her private reflections have a timeless and universal quality. She seems to light a path towards the many sources and forms of happiness and fulfilment that are within reach, not just of paragons of virtue, but of mere humans with all their flaws and frailties. In the midst of her own despondency, she inspires us with her wisdom, her discernment, and a 'gourmandise' that, just for a change, is not bad for our health.Madame du Ch�telet is the author of these Reflections on Happiness, which she wrote in a state of despondency as her close relationship with the great writer and philosopher, Voltaire, was approaching its end. Nevertheless, Voltaire remained a good friend, right up to her death, in her early forties, a few weeks after the birth or her daughter, who also died a few months' later.Sheila Oakley, who has a doctorate in French 18th century history, has translated this Discourse on Happiness from French into English. She has also written the preface to this translation, and has added a short chronology of the author's life, and supplementary notes to explain certain contemporary allusions and references. She would be delighted to hear from readers who wish to give their impressions of the book, after reading it. She can be contacted at: sheila.oakley@eui.eu- or readers may prefer to write a review of the book by clicking on the appropriate rubric at the top of this web page.

Emilie Du Châtelet

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