Quicksilver Reading CompanionEliza walks along the desolate Dutch coast to meet with the Prince of Orange, reflecting on the stark contrast between the natural wildness of the North Sea and the artificial rigidity of the French court.
“theologians sorcerers” — Stephenson’s annotation: “This account may be justly criticized for making Newton seem a little wacky. In future volumes we will see more of Newton’s side of the story and get a more balanced view of all this. In modern critical parlance, Daniel Waterhouse is an “unreliable narrator.” We are seeing everything here through Daniel’s eyes, but his eyes are clouded by his hostility towards Alchemy, and so the picture drawn here is biased and melodramatic.”
“hypotheses non fingo steven” — From the original wiki (horst): “The date at which the book has Newton come forward with “hypotheses non fingo” may be anachronistic. This phrase first appeared in the general scholia of the second edition of the Principia; and as I understand it, it reflected a good deal of agonizing over what to think about “forces” between editions.
This is, I think, an enduring problem in the interpretation of laws, and lives on in another form in the realist/empiricist debate in philosophy of science.”
“At Versailles, everything had been designed and made by men.” — The Palace of Versailles served as the seat of French political power under Louis XIV, designed with rigid symmetry and opulence to demonstrate the “Sun King’s” absolute control over both nature and the nobility.
“Stadholder of the Dutch Republic” — The Stadtholder was a unique Dutch office that combined the roles of military commander and chief executive; while it eventually became hereditary within the House of Orange, it was technically a servant of the state rather than a monarch.
“waves of Araby off the Malabar Coast” — The Malabar Coast is the southwestern shore of India and was a critical theater for the spice trade, where the Dutch, Portuguese, and English East India Companies competed fiercely for dominance.
“There are Christian slaves in Barbary, you know” — The Barbary Slave Trade involved North African corsairs capturing Europeans for sale in slave markets in Algiers and Morocco, a constant threat to Mediterranean and Atlantic maritime powers.
“getting a new piece of furniture in their banyolar…” — Derived from the Italian word for “bath,” a Bagnio was the term used for the crowded, squalid quarters where slaves were kept in the Barbary States.
“what he said to me after his operation?” — This refers to the Anal Fistula of Louis XIV, a major historical event where the King underwent a dangerous surgery; its success was celebrated as a national triumph and even influenced court fashion, as courtiers began wearing bandages in solidarity.
“deliver such a warning to d’Avaux?” — Jean-Antoine de Mesmes, Comte d’Avaux was a key French diplomat and ambassador to the Dutch Republic who worked tirelessly to undermine William of Orange and maintain French influence in the Netherlands.
“William of Orange” — William III of England was the Dutch Stadtholder and Protestant champion who would eventually lead the Glorious Revolution to take the English throne from his father-in-law, James II.
“whether it originates from you, or Liselotte, or the Maintenon” — Madame de Maintenon was the second wife of King Louis XIV; though her marriage was secret, she wielded immense political and religious influence over the aging monarch.
“cabinet noir” — The Cabinet Noir, or “Black Chamber,” was a secret office within the French postal service dedicated to intercepting, opening, and deciphering sensitive correspondence for the King.
“the French East India Company there around 1666” — Established by Jean-Baptiste Colbert, the French East India Company was France’s attempt to break the Dutch and English monopoly on Indian Ocean trade, though it often struggled with mismanagement.
“a London or an Amsterdam—is a nightmare to him” — This refers to the Commerçants, the rising merchant class whose liquid wealth and independence from land-based feudalism posed a direct threat to the absolute authority of monarchs like Louis XIV.
“take her to the polders surrounding the Hague” — Polders are low-lying tracts of land reclaimed from the sea through the use of dikes and drainage, representing the pinnacle of 17th-century Dutch hydraulic engineering.
“He moved like a Janissary” — Janissaries were the elite infantry units of the Ottoman Sultan’s household, famous throughout Europe for their strict discipline, unique uniforms, and martial prowess.
“the Spanish Netherlands” — The Spanish Netherlands was a Hapsburg-controlled region (modern-day Belgium) that acted as a buffer state and frequent battleground between the expansionist France and the Dutch Republic.
“King Louis—who had plenty of his own regiments” — Louis XIV, the “Sun King,” was the most powerful ruler in Europe, maintaining a massive standing army that he used to pursue a policy of French hegemony.
“John Churchill, the commander of my regiment” — John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough was a brilliant English general who rose to prominence under James II before eventually defected to William of Orange.
“press-ganged on India ships” — Impressment was the practice of forcibly recruiting men into naval service, a common and brutal method used to man both warships and merchant vessels during the 17th century.
Original annotations by: horst, stephenson