I. Versions and variants

Since the Paris manuscript BNF Fr. 12265 reveals many revision stages, it was crucial for the editors to make explicit the main stages of revision in structure and content made by Émilie Du Châtelet, through establishing them as textual versions on their own, rather than placing them in the variant apparatus. On the one hand, this makes it easier for the reader to perceive the differences by presenting the versions as distinct texts, so that the reader does not need to reconstruct all revision stages from the entries in the variant apparatus, which at times is quite a complicated task. On the other hand, in order to analyze the differences between the revision stages in detail, the reader needs to compare the online edited versions by arranging them in separate windows on the screen or display. This might be demanding at times, yet it is still easier than reconstructing all revision stages from the variant apparatus.

However, in order to make the comparison between the distinct versions easier, we decided to offer, in these introductory notes, a survey of some striking differences between the versions. We continue to provide a variant apparatus, however, representing the finer-grained revisions made by Émilie Du Châtelet.

By consequently establishing versions as texts on their own, and as distinguished by the amount of changes in structure and content, we also establish revision stages as variants which might only consist of one word being changed.

We have identified nine revision stages in this chapter. There is an initial fair copy (siglum A), which then undergoes various revisions, leading to a final handwritten version (siglum G). In addition, there are the two published printed versions from 1740 and 1742 (sigla H and I). The final manuscript revision stage is available as a full version G, with the earlier revision stages available in the edition as variants.

Of the manuscipt revision stages, the seventh (siglum G) is established as a full version. Other revision stages are available in the edition as variants.

VERSIONS AND VARIANTS	SOURCE
A = VARIANT DOCUMENTED IN THE VARIANT APPARATUS OF VERSION G	Émilie Du Châtelet: Institutions de physique, Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS fr. 12265, 288r-299r
B = VARIANT DOCUMENTED IN THE VARIANT APPARATUS OF VERSION G	Émilie Du Châtelet: Institutions de physique, Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS fr. 12265, 288r-299r
C = VARIANT DOCUMENTED IN THE VARIANT APPARATUS OF VERSION G	Émilie Du Châtelet: Institutions de physique, Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS fr. 12265, 288r-299r
D = VARIANT DOCUMENTED IN THE VARIANT APPARATUS OF VERSION G	Émilie Du Châtelet: Institutions de physique, Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS fr. 12265, 288r-299r
E = VARIANT DOCUMENTED IN THE VARIANT APPARATUS OF VERSION G	Émilie Du Châtelet: Institutions de physique, Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS fr. 12265, 288r-299r
F = VARIANT DOCUMENTED IN THE VARIANT APPARATUS OF VERSION G	Émilie Du Châtelet: Institutions de physique, Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS fr. 12265, 288r-299r
G = MAIN TEXT = VERSION	Émilie Du Châtelet: Institutions de physique, Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS fr. 12265, 288r-299r
H = MAIN TEXT = VERSION	Du Châtelet: Institutions de physique, Paris: Prault, 1740, 335-353
I = MAIN TEXT = VERSION	Du Châtelet: Institutions physiques, Amsterdam: Au Depens de la Compagnie, 1742, pp. 351-377.

II. Short survey of the main manuscript version G

This chapter, despite undergoing many revisions, retains much of the text from the original fair copy (from variant A) in this version, G. However, Du Châtelet cancels long passages, proposing a shorter final version, as can be seen in the variants (for example, on page 295v/263/15 or 297v/265/19). On page 295v, there is a loose small sheet, written in Du Châtelet’s hand, suggesting an alternative version of the section, which is also canceled. This chapter is entirely written by a copyist, with only the corrections made by Du Châtelet’s hand.

III. Some significant differences between versions

An important revision can be noticed in sections 423 to 425 (pages 290r/259/7), where Du Châtelet establishes the relationship between the direction of force and the motion of falling bodies. In these sections, we can see a composition of texts from the fair copy and alternative versions in the right and left margins. The final version, G, presents a shorter and more direct text on the subject.

Regarding the establishment of two main texts for the printed editions of 1740 and 1742, the primary reason for this is a lengthy passage added as a note toward the end of the chapter in the 1742 edition. The note provides a detailed commentary on Huygens' and other authors' perspectives regarding the behavior of bodies on an inclined plane. Du Châtelet aims to offer a more thorough explanation of this phenomenon.

IV. Note on the technical and editorial presentation of the edition

There are still changes to come in the technical presentation of the edition. The design and structure as well as the information implemented in the XML files will be refined. Due to the work required to program all these refinements, it will take some time until the final edition can be presented online. Also to be added is the commentary on the texts.

For now, we show a preliminary version, a work in progress, which is the basis for all future refinements.