The first French introduction to Newtonianism and the " Principia " was " El�ments de la philosophie de Newton ", published by Voltaire in 1738 . �milie du Ch�telet's translation of the " Principia ", published after her death in 1756, also helped to spread Newton s theories beyond scientific academies and the university.
12.
He was " one of the first Esprits cavaliers of the age, " a man of broad knowledge, an expert in Newtonianism, architecture and music and a friend of most of the leading authors of his times : Voltaire, Jean-Baptiste de Boyer, Marquis d'Argens, Pierre-Louis de Maupertuis and the atheist Julien Offray de La Mettrie.
