JOHN LOCKE, BAYLE & CUDWORTH in Bibliotheque Choisie 18 volumes: First French review of Newton ’s Optica.

In the 17th and early 18th centuries, Jean Le Clerc (1657–1736), the Swiss-Dutch Arminian pastor, philologist, theologian and erudite journalist, contributed significantly to the dissemination of knowledge to a large European audience. He was one of the most popular intellectuals of his time and author of the famous Bibliothèques, which, for over 40 years, covered topics such as history, law, theology and philology.

The platonist Ralp Cudworth was an influential philosopher in the early modern period both for his criticisms of contemporaries like Bayle, Hobbes, Descartes, and Spinoza, and for his own distinctive philosophical views

RALPH CUDWORTH. The text of Cudworth's magnum opus has first been transmitted in French, due to Jean Le Clerc, in some of the volumes of his Bibliothèque choisie, published between 1703 to 170.


The entire work by Pierre Bayle was based on a the French chapter that Bayle read in Volume II, 78 - 130 pp. Nature plastiqueVolume III.11 - 109 pp. Chapter 3 from Cudwoths workVolume VI, Response by Mr Bayle, 422 - 427 pp.
Volume VII, Refutation la creation du neant par Cudworth, 1 - 80 pp.Volume VIII, Response aux objections des Athees, 11 - 43
Volume IX, ibid, 1 - 103 pp.


The work of other scientists is also discussed a length

JOHN LOCKE. Long eulogy on , p 342 – 412 Volume VI
ISAAC NEWTON. OPTICS, p 245 – 319. First review of Newton 's book. Volume IX
PIERRE BAYLE, p 198 - 386, Volume XII

I. 412 p. II. 410 p. III 410 p. IV 415 p. V. 412, VI. 431 p. VII 413p. VIII 413 p.
IX 410 p. X. 428 p. XI. 422 p. XII. 423 p. XIII. 418 p. XIV 416 p. XVI. 418 p, XVII.426 p. XVIII, 418 p XIX, 446 p.