The monadology and other philosophical writings

Front matter

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Preface

In this country Leibniz has received less attention than any other of the great philosophers. Mr. Merz has given, in a small volume, a general outline of Leibniz’s thought and work, Professor Sorley has written for the Encyclopaedia Britannica a remarkably clear, but brief, account of his philosophy, and there are American translations of the Nouveaux

Essais and of some of his philosophical papers. That is very nearly the whole of English writing about him. Yet few philosophical systems stand so much in need of exposition as that of Leibniz. His theories have to be extracted from seven large volumes of correspondence, criticism, magazine articles, and other discursive writings, and it is only in recent years that this material has been made fully available by the publication of Gerhardt’s edition. No complete and detailed account of Leibniz’s philosophy has hitherto been published in English, and accordingly I have written a very full Introduction to this book, with illustrative foot-notes, consisting mainly of transla-

‘tions from Leibniz himself.

The endeavour of the book is to make the Monadology clear to students. I cannot agree with Dillmann in treating it as of little importance.

A 3 vl PREFACE

Leibniz himself expressly intended it to be a compact and ordered statement of the views he had expounded in many scattered papers and in his somewhat desultory Théodicée, the only book he published. There is evidence of this in his correspondence and in the fact that he annotated the Monadology with references to passages in the Théodicée. My original intention was to publish a translation of these passages along with the Monadology, but on re-consideration it seemed better to translate several short papers illustrating different parts of Leibniz’s system and explaining its growth. Thus fhe Monadology, as being the centre of the book, is printed first of the translations (although in date it is last), while the other writings follow in chronological order. The only disadvantage of this arrangement is that it places the Principles of Nature and of Grace, which is most akin to the Monadology, farthest away from it.

If I might venture to suggest to the student the way in which the book should be read, I would recommend him first to read Part I of the Introduction, then the Monadology (without the notes), afterwards Parts II and III of the Introduction, the Monadology again (with the notes), the other translations, and finally Part IV of the Introduction, in which I have endeavoured to ‘ place’ the philosophy of Leibniz in relation to the systems which came before and after his.

My indebtedness to authors is so great and varied that I cannot acknowledge it in detail; but I may.

mention as specially helpful to me the works of Boutroux, Dillmann, Nourisson, Nolen, and Stein. My thanks are due to Professor Jones, of Glasgow, a . ene ee ly coe ee? me ay red a one wa ae cane gd

PREFACE Vil who read the Introduction in manuscript, for much valuable suggestion and criticism; and I am more than grateful to Professor Ritchie, of St. Andrews, who read the whole book, both in manuscript and in proof, and to whom it owes numerous improvements as well in form as in matter.

I have adopted the spelling ‘ Leibniz’ in place of the traditional ‘ Leibnitz,’ because the former was invariably used by Leibniz in signing his own name.

It ought perhaps also to be mentioned that Parts II and III of the Introduction were accepted by the University of Edinburgh as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. of ROBERT LATTA.

University or St. ANDREWS, June, 1898.

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Table Of Contents

PREFACE INTRODUCTION : Part I. Life and Works of Leibniz . »» iI. General Principles of the Philosophy of Leibniz . » III. Detailed Statement of the Palos of Leibniz .

A. Leibniz’s Mathematics in relation to his

Philosophy .