TREASURES OF RUSSIAN SCIENCE

(On the Publication of the First Volume of the Complete Works of M. V. Lomonosov)

I. V. Kuznetsov

A new and most valuable contribution has been made to Soviet scientific literature: the first volume of the Complete Works of the brilliant son of the Russian people, the founder of Russian natural science—Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov, has appeared in print*).

This volume contains 17 works by M. V. Lomonosov on physics and chemistry, written by him during the period 1738–1746. Here are their titles: 1. A work in physics on the transformation of a solid body into a liquid, depending on the motion of the preceding liquid. 2. A physical dissertation on the difference of mixed bodies, consisting in the cohesion of corpuscles, which Mikhail Lomonosov, student of mathematics and philosophy, wrote as an exercise in March 1739. 3. Elements of mathematical chemistry. 4. Discourse on a catoptric-dioptric incendiary instrument, outlined by M. Lomonosov in August 1741. 5. 276 notes on physics and corpuscular philosophy; themes for future works. 6. An essay toward a theory of the insensible particles of bodies and, in general, on the causes of particular qualities. 7. Notes on the gravity of bodies. 8. 44 notes on the cohesion of corpuscles. 9. On the cohesion and arrangement of physical monads. 10. On the natural bodies composing insensible physical particles, in which there is contained a sufficient basis for particular qualities. 11. On the free motion of air, observed in mines. 12. On the motion of air, observed by Mikhail Lomonosov in ore mines. 13. On the action of chemical solvents in general,

) M. V. Lomonosov, Complete Works*, vol. 1. Works on physics and chemistry, 1738–1746. Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Moscow–Leningrad, 1950, 619 pp., print run 10,000. Chief editorial board: Acad. S. I. Vavilov (chief editor), Corresponding Member of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR T. P. Kravets (deputy chief editor), A. I. Andreev, P. N. Berkov, G. P. Blok, A. A. Eliseev (head of the chief editorial office), G. A. Knyazev. Editors of the first volume: S. I. Vavilov, T. P. Kravets, and A. A. Eliseev.

Mikhail Lomonosov. 14. On chemical solutions in general, a discourse by Mikhail Lomonosov. 15. On metallic luster, by Mikhail Lomonosov. 16. Wolffian experimental physics, abridged from the German original in the Latin language, from which it was translated into the Russian language by Mikhail Lomonosov, member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences and professor of chemistry. 17. Program.

Of the seventeen works listed, five are being published for the first time in Russian translation, and one work (Notes on the Weight of Bodies) is appearing in print for the first time altogether.

A reader becoming acquainted with these works, written by M. V. Lomonosov while still in his years of study and in the very first years of his stay at the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, cannot but be struck by the exceptional depth, clarity, and consistency of thought that already appear with unusual force in M. V. Lomonosov’s early works. So great was the young scholar’s insight that already at the beginning of his scientific activity he was able to define, in an entirely new way, the tasks of chemistry as a science, to formulate those general requirements which every scholar (chemist) wishing to work successfully in his field must satisfy, and in essence immediately to outline the main features of the extensive program of his future physico-chemical investigations.

This unity of plan, of the program of scientific works, is one of the most striking features of all M. V. Lomonosov’s activity. It found splendid expression also in his works included in the present volume. The main thread running through these works is the striving to place physics and chemistry on the firm foundation of the original materialist doctrine, consistently developed step by step by Lomonosov, concerning the imperceptible physical particles of which bodies are composed. The very list of titles of the investigations carried out by M. V. Lomonosov undoubtedly testifies to this. The content of his works reveals the full grandeur of the undertaking he conceived. In his “276 Notes on Physics and Corpuscular Philosophy,” M. V. Lomonosov resolutely objects to those who believe that the “method of philosophizing based on atoms” cannot explain “the origin of things.” He emphasizes with particular force that “there are no natural principles which could explain more clearly and more fully the essence of matter and of universal motion” than atoms and the atomistic doctrine (p. 119). These “276 Notes on Physics and Corpuscular Philosophy” show especially clearly how broad, from the very beginning, was the range of interests of M. V. Lomonosov—a true giant of scientific thought. From the standpoint of his atomistic doctrine, M. V. Lomonosov attempts to understand and explain the vast range of diverse phenomena of nature—the transparency of bodies (pp. 105, 131), the dependence of the speed

the sound in air on temperature (p. 121), the fluidity of bodies (p. 145), the very nature of heat (p. 151), the nature of light, etc., etc. Lomonosov emphasizes that this “philosophizing of his, based on atoms,” is by no means speculative conjecture. He points out that “in a matter so deeply hidden and not directly accessible to the senses, I shall try to proceed in the most cautious manner... I acknowledge no invention and no hypothesis, however probable it may appear, without exact proofs, submitting to the rules that guide reasoning” (p. 115).

He is not seduced by the outward appearance of coherence in theoretical constructions, but strives to reveal the essence of phenomena on the basis of experimental data.

Already in the very first of these “Notes,” M. V. Lomonosov writes: “Here in the introduction it must be mentioned that I am not carried away by chemical lures and appearances, but have constructed the theory on the basis of the simplest experiments” (p. 105). Where he does not yet have the possibility of performing a particular experiment, M. V. Lomonosov outlines ways of experimentally verifying the fundamental propositions of his theory. One such proposition was the assertion of the “immutability of the nature of corpuscles.” On this subject M. V. Lomonosov remarks: “To prove the immutability of the nature of corpuscles, that they do not change like Vertumnus*), various methods of analysis with acids and phlogiston should be applied to various minerals, passing even from one kingdom to another” (p. 143).

With the genuine passion of a scholar opening new paths in science, M. V. Lomonosov struggles against blind submission to authorities. He emphasizes that science in Europe suffered just as much from “the disturbances of that time” as from slavish adherence to authorities. In his opinion, blind “adherence to the opinions of the glorious man” (Aristotle) was “the chief obstacle to the growth of philosophy and the other sciences, which depend greatly on it. Through this there was taken away the noble zeal that those engaged in the sciences should strive, one before another, for new and useful inventions” (p. 423).

In experience, in the data of experiment, M. V. Lomonosov sees the genuine, solid foundation of science. He unhesitatingly sets experience against all opinions born of pure “imagination.” A single experiment means more to him than the assertions of many authorities who have forgotten the experimental roots of scientific knowledge. At the same time, however, M. V. Lomonosov warns against a blind attitude toward experiment itself. He repeatedly emphasizes,

*) Vertumnus was a Roman deity to whom was ascribed the ability to appear in the most various forms.

that in order to uncover the laws of nature, what is necessary is not simply the sensory perception of phenomena, but also the profound work of theoretical thought. Especially indicative in this respect is the following statement by M. V. Lomonosov: “I place one experiment higher than a thousand opinions born of imagination alone. But I consider it necessary to relate experiments to the needs of physics. Those who, intending to derive truths from experience, take nothing with them except their own senses, must for the most part be left with nothing: for they either fail to notice what is best and most necessary, or they do not know how to make use of what they see or apprehend with the aid of the other senses” (p. 125). He ridicules those who “darken all their days with smoke and soot, and in whose brains chaos reigns from a mass of ill-considered experiments” (p. 75). With extraordinary brilliance and force he defends the rights of theoretical thought in natural science.

However, the young scientist stood immeasurably higher not only than narrow-minded blind empiricists, but also than abstract rationalist theoreticians. The banner of M. V. Lomonosov, raised by him from the very beginning of his scientific activity, was the harmonious unity of experiment and theory, of experimental and theoretical research. One must clearly imagine the situation in natural science at that time in order to appreciate the full significance of this program, proclaimed and realized by M. V. Lomonosov, of the unity of theory and experiment. After the unbridled speculations of Descartes and the Cartesians, which had not justified themselves and which claimed to disclose all the mysteries of nature solely by the power of abstract thought, crude empiricism and a disdainful attitude toward theory prevailed among the majority of naturalists. In M. V. Lomonosov’s remarkable and, unfortunately, unfinished work Elements of Mathematical Chemistry, new principles were proclaimed not only for chemistry, but in essence for all natural science.

First of all, a blow was struck at the conception of chemistry that prevailed in the seventeenth and first half of the eighteenth century. Chemistry at that time was not considered a science; it was regarded as a kind of “art.” In opposition to this, M. V. Lomonosov advances the demand that chemistry be regarded precisely as a science. Moreover, he defines its subject matter in an entirely new way, illuminating the tasks before it. “Chemistry is the science of the changes that occur in a mixed body, insofar as it is mixed,” M. V. Lomonosov states at the very beginning of his Elements of Mathematical Chemistry (p. 67). This definition of chemistry as a science was not only the first in the history of natural science, but also far ahead of its time. Having established wherein, in his opinion, the practical and theoretical “part of chemistry” consists, M. V. Lomonosov arrives at the following, albeit concise,

but to a very profound and rich in content conclusion, one that goes far beyond the actual confines of chemistry: “A true chemist must be both a theorist and a practitioner” (p. 71). To this he adds two special “appendices,” developing and clarifying the very same thought: “Those engaged in practice alone are not true chemists... But those who delight themselves with speculation alone cannot be considered true chemists” (pp. 71–73).

The understanding of the necessity of the most profound unity of experiment and theory, and the brilliant embodiment of this unity in his own concrete scientific investigation of the fundamental problems of science, raised M. V. Lomonosov high above his contemporaries and opened to his gaze the prospects for the development of natural science for many decades to come.

In this, too, lies the reason why our great scientist was among the first in the history of science to understand the necessity of a close union of the sciences with one another, of destroying the metaphysical, rigid partitions that forcibly separate them from each other. In the “Elements of Mathematical Chemistry” he persistently seeks the connection of chemistry with the science of the motion of matter (mechanics), categorically declaring: “... if anyone wishes to comprehend chemical truths more deeply, he must study mechanics” (p. 75). One cannot fail to see in this an enormous historical merit of M. V. Lomonosov. His persistent striving to connect chemical processes with the real motion of particles of matter was a great scientific idea that has since guided the entire development of chemical science down to our own day. Of course, M. V. Lomonosov’s ideas about the essence and character of this material motion in chemical processes were one-sided and incomplete. They were, in accordance with the level of knowledge of that epoch, mechanical. But the main point lay in the infallibility and fruitfulness of the very idea of the necessity of investigating the hidden “mechanism” of “changes in mixed bodies.” In the assertion of this idea, in raising it to the level of a scientifically grounded hypothesis, consists the entire enduring value of M. V. Lomonosov’s “Elements of Mathematical Chemistry,” of his “276 Notes,” as well as of his entire “corpuscular philosophy” as a whole.

M. V. Lomonosov clearly saw the inner interconnection of chemistry and physics, and he outlined ways of uniting both these sciences. “Chemistry is the right hand of physics, mathematics its eyes” (p. 115)—thus did he figuratively characterize this connection between the sciences.

Nor can one fail to note M. V. Lomonosov’s persistent attempts to prove the fruitfulness of applying mathematics to chemistry. A considerable part of his works published in the first volume are set forth by M. V. Lomonosov, without resorting to formulas, in a distinctive “mathe-

cal method.” The exposition of the main idea in them is given in strict, carefully struck “axioms,” “theorems,” “proofs,” “corollaries,” “explanations,” etc., clearly dividing the text of the works into parts connected with one another by the necessary logical bond. Here everything is clear: the initial premises, definitions, the method and course of the proof, the final conclusions. The structure of these works is, as it were, deliberately laid bare in all its details for external review. And although in later years M. V. Lomonosov used this form of exposition less and less often, nevertheless he was never forsaken by his conviction of the enormous value of mathematics for natural science. Here is one such attempt by M. V. Lomonosov to convince his readers of the justice of this idea—an attempt imbued with the deep passion of a scholar who believes in his own rightness and cares only for the interests of science: “What light mathematics is capable of kindling in the spagyric science*) can be foreseen by one who is initiated into its mysteries and knows such chapters of the natural sciences, successfully treated mathematically, as hydraulics, aerometry, optics, and others: everything that had previously been dark, doubtful, and unreliable in these sciences mathematics made clear, reliable, and evident. True, many deny the possibility of laying the principles of mechanics at the foundation of chemistry and of placing it among the sciences; but they deny this because they have gone astray in the darkness of hidden properties and do not know that in the changes of mixed bodies the laws of mechanics are always observed, and also because they distrust the empty and false speculations which certain theoreticians, abusing their leisure, impose upon the learned world without any preliminary experiment. If those who darken all their days with smoke and soot, and in whose brains chaos reigns from a mass of ill-considered experiments, did not disdain to learn the sacred laws of the geometers..., then undoubtedly they could penetrate more deeply into the mysteries of nature, of which they proclaim themselves the interpreters. Indeed, if mathematicians, from the comparison of a few lines, derive very many truths, then for chemists too I see no other reason why they could not derive more regularities from such an abundance of available experiments, except ignorance of mathematics” (p. 75).

Undoubtedly, M. V. Lomonosov’s profound conviction that geometry helps the chemist “to derive more regularities” from the available empirical material enabled him clearly to formulate the idea of the dependence of the properties of bodies not only on the character of the “insensible particles” composing them, but also on their mutual arrangement in space. This idea is by no means accidental. Lomonosov repeatedly expresses

*) In the sixteenth, seventeenth, and early eighteenth centuries, chemistry was called the spagyric science.

her in the works of the volume under review. As an example, let us cite one of the scientist’s statements, which contains the proposition that the properties of bodies depend on the arrangement of particles: “...particular qualities depend also on the arrangement of insensible physical particles, and bodies whose physically insensible particles differ in arrangement also differ in particular qualities, which depend on the arrangement of the particles” (p. 213).

It is now well known that the difference between the properties of solids and those of liquids and gases is directly connected with the difference in the arrangement of the particles composing them. The so-called “long-range order” in the arrangement of particles distinguishes a crystal from a liquid and a gas; relative “short-range order”—a certain ordering around chaotically arranged centers—distinguishes liquids from gases. In this fact one cannot fail to see an expression of the triumph of Lomonosov’s remarkable thought. But the application of this same thought to molecules (which differ in the arrangement of the atoms entering into them) leads to a new phenomenon—isomerism. In implicit form, isomerism was anticipated by M. V. Lomonosov.

One of the most significant achievements of Russian chemistry was the theory of the structure of organic compounds created by A. M. Butlerov. In its development, the same Lomonosovian idea of the necessity of introducing geometry and “mechanics” into chemistry played a most important role. Butlerov emphasized with particular force the importance of analyzing the spatial arrangement of the chemical bonds of atoms combining into a molecule, and of considering molecules as complex dynamic systems possessing internal motion.

The crystallochemical analysis created by E. S. Fedorov, his entire theory of crystal symmetry, brilliantly realized Lomonosov’s idea of the connection, the unity, of the chemical properties of a substance and its internal geometrical structure.

One of the most important ideas that guided the theoretical investigations of M. V. Lomonosov was the idea of the material unity of the macro- and microworld. Striving to formulate the most general “foundations” of science, which would make it possible “as if at a single glance to encompass the totality of all things,” M. V. Lomonosov emphasizes that “nature firmly adheres to its laws and is everywhere identical” (p. 135). Emphasizing the fact of the materiality of the nature surrounding us, of physical bodies, M. V. Lomonosov at the same time emphasizes the materiality of the “insensible particles” composing physical bodies. For him it is self-evident that “insensible particles” must possess all the physical signs of materiality that ordinary macroscopic bodies also possess. From the fact that bodies possess inertia, motion, extension, impenetrability, and so forth, M. V. Lomonosov directly concludes that by inertia, motion, extension, impenetrability,

and the like, must possess also the “insensible particles” composing them. The idea of the material unity of the macro- and microworld, which found vivid expression in the works of the first volume and faithfully served M. V. Lomonosov in his subsequent scientific activity, was for him a weapon in the struggle against the antiscientific views of Leibniz, who advanced the idealistic “monadology,” as well as against the analogous views of Ch. Wolff. On this idea M. V. Lomonosov bases his work “On the Difference of Mixed Bodies,” “An Essay on the Theory of the Insensible Particles of Bodies,” and other investigations.

Very indicative from this point of view is Lomonosov’s theoretical justification of the extension of “insensible particles.” This justification of their real extension was of great importance for refuting Leibniz’s idealistic “monadology.” M. V. Lomonosov subtly observes that if physical bodies consisted of unextended particles, then they either themselves would not possess extension, or else would be absolutely penetrable for all other bodies—depending on whether the “insensible particles” are considered to be in contact with one another or else located at some distance from one another (pp. 199–201). Analogous to this is the justification of the fact that particles possess inertia (pp. 203–205).

Of course, M. V. Lomonosov, owing to historical conditions, could not know or suppose that, although the macro- and microworld are materially unified, they are qualitatively distinctive, and that in each of these domains of phenomena specific regularities prevail. The clarification of this was one of the most important results of twentieth-century physics. Nevertheless, the generally correct foundation of Lomonosov’s conceptions concerning the material unity of nature in all its parts—in the large and in the small—proved to be the foundation of all the achievements of scientific atomistics. This same idea played a major role in the work of another great Russian scientist, D. I. Mendeleev.

The early works of M. V. Lomonosov collected in the volume under review undoubtedly reveal yet another extremely important feature of all Lomonosov’s creative activity—the striving to place the achievements of science at the service of practice, the great cause of the enlightenment of the people. This is attested both by Lomonosov’s original works “On the Free Movement of Air Observed in Mines,” “A Discourse on the Catoptric-Dioptric Igniting Instrument Designed by M. V. Lomonosov,” and by his translation of “Wolffian Experimental Physics.”

In the work “On the Free Movement of Air Observed in Mines,” Lomonosov develops, on the basis of the laws of physics, a theory of the natural movement of air in mines under the influence of changes in the weather and the change of the seasons. In doing so he was guided not at all by a simple abstract interest in explaining an observed phenomenon in and of itself, but first and foremost by those practical conclusions,

which follow from the theory he created for the ventilation of mines, for lightening the labor of workers, and for reducing unnecessary expenses. In the conclusion of this article M. V. Lomonosov writes: “This theory of the free motion of air in mines will be useful, I hope, to the owners of ore deposits and to miners. For (if the location permits) mines and adits laid out according to the rules indicated above are easier for the workers and less costly for the owners. The construction and operation of air machines [owing to the necessity of removing air spoiled by underground vapors] requires no small outlay and labor” (p. 331).

In creating his original “catoptric-dioptric incendiary instrument,” M. V. Lomonosov likewise had in mind quite definite practical aims. Proposing to use optical incendiary devices for carrying out chemical work “requiring a great fire” (p. 89), he strives to increase the power of these devices and to eliminate the enormous practical difficulties involved in making them. He wishes to achieve his aim by “collecting the foci of several lenses or mirrors in one and the same place, where by their united forces they will produce a heat greater than any known hitherto” (ibid.). Emphasizing the advantages of his device, M. V. Lomonosov points out: “Here there is no need to toil over casting enormous glasses or to engage in the most tedious labor of polishing them, for several smaller glasses will produce the same effect. They will require comparatively small expenses, and for their manufacture there will be no need of great labor and effort. Whoever undertakes to make the entire device proposed in this article will spend no more than 40 florins... The same large glasses and lenses, made only with the generous support of emperors and kings, can be seen in the cabinets of curiosities of the latter” (p. 101).

In publishing the “Wolfian Experimental Physics” translated by him, M. V. Lomonosov proceeded from the noble patriotic intention of spreading science among Russian people and fostering in them a love for scientific knowledge. At the end of his preface to the “Wolfian Experimental Physics,” the ardent patriot-scholar wrote: “In concluding this, from a sincere heart I wish that, in proportion to the vastness of this state, the higher sciences may spread in it, and that in the sons of Russia the desire and zeal for them may increase evenly” (p. 425).

This book did indeed play an enormous role in the development of physics in Russia. It was the first textbook of experimental physics in the Russian language. For a number of decades students, gymnasium pupils, and students of other educational institutions studied from it. The Russian translation of the book by Ch. Wolff was not a mechanical copy of the foreign edition. In bringing this book out in Russian, M. V. Lomonosov in a number of places

substantially altered the exposition, departing from the text of the original. He not only corrected some of its inaccuracies, but also improved the text, striving for maximum clarity. At the same time, Lomonosov carried out work of enormous importance in creating, for the first time in the history of our science, a scientific terminology, the foundations of a Russian scientific language accessible to broad circles of the people. He himself writes of this as follows: “In addition to this I was compelled to seek words for naming certain physical instruments, actions, and natural things which at first may seem somewhat strange, but I hope that in time, through usage, they will become more familiar” (p. 425).

Reading the translation of Wolffian Experimental Physics, one involuntarily notices the clarity and precision of the style, the remarkable accessibility of the exposition. This was the result of the conscious, purposeful labor of the great scientist, who sought to awaken in his reader “a desire and zeal” for the sciences. A passionate wish to impart his knowledge to others guided him in this work. He angrily brands those who shrink from the cause of enlightenment, from communicating their knowledge. It is characteristic that in one of his “276 notes on physics and corpuscular philosophy” Lomonosov wrote: “As for those mystical writers who shrink from communicating their knowledge, they could, with less damage to their good name and with less burden to their readers, conceal this doctrine if they did not write books at all, instead of writing bad ones” (p. 145). This concern for the reader, for the dissemination of knowledge among the people, the desire to make the achievements of science accessible to him, is extremely characteristic of M. V. Lomonosov. From Lomonosov there came, and in the further development of Russian natural science there became firmly established, a remarkable tradition whose meaning K. A. Timiryazev expressed with particular vividness: to work for science, to write for the people.

The works of the first volume of the Complete Collected Works of M. V. Lomonosov show his greatness not only in resolving general questions of science, but also testify to his astonishing scientific intuition in the analysis of narrowly specialized physical and chemical problems. The extraordinarily subtle considerations expressed in this connection by M. V. Lomonosov prove to be entirely correct and are confirmed, long afterward, by the direct experiments of other scientists. Thus, in his work “Discourse on a Catoptric-Dioptric Incendiary Instrument,” M. V. Lomonosov, after a careful study of the question, expresses the idea that “the sun’s rays, even after reflection from plane mirrors, still retain their heat-producing force” (p. 91). This idea is laid by him at the foundation of the entire construction of the new apparatus. It introduced an entirely new element into the doctrine of light that existed at that time.

Modern physics has fully confirmed this prediction of M. V. Lomonosov. Indeed, the losses of the infrared part of the spectrum of solar radiation upon reflection are very small, whereas in the visible part of the spectrum these losses are quite considerable.

In the “Dissertation on the Action of Chemical Solvents” M. V. Lomonosov for the first time expresses the profound idea of the difference between the processes of dissolving metals in acid and dissolving salts in water (p. 349). Lavoisier arrived at the same conclusion only 40 years after the Russian scientist. In this same work (1743) Lomonosov discovered the phenomenon of the so-called passivation of metals (the coating of a metal with a film of oxide after immersion in acid, as a result of which the dissolution of the metal ceases). Meanwhile, this discovery was usually attributed to Keir, who published his observations on the dissolution of metals in acids only in 1790, i.e., 47 years after Lomonosov.

It is difficult in a short article to assess all the richness of the thoughts and ideas contained in the works of Mikhail Vasilievich Lomonosov published in the first volume of his Collected Works. These are truly priceless treasures of Russian science! In becoming acquainted with them, the reader sees vividly recreated before his eyes the formation of the scientific views of the great son of the Russian people, his tireless search for scientific truth, the struggle for advanced science, for the honor and prosperity of the Russian people.

The publication of the Complete Collected Works of M. V. Lomonosov is a genuine gift to broad circles of Soviet readers, to scientific workers, teachers, students, physicists, chemists, philosophers, historians of science, and many workers in other specialties.

The first volume of this fundamental edition that has appeared bears witness to the care and scientific precision with which it was prepared. The texts of works written by M. V. Lomonosov in Latin are published in the original language on the left-hand pages of the book. Parallel to them, on the right-hand pages, a Russian translation is given. The translations have in essence been made or revised anew; errors (sometimes very serious and numerous ones) that had crept into earlier published translations have been eliminated. All articles are carefully annotated. In the commentaries, the dates of the writing of works are established and substantiated (if the date was not given by the author), valuable information is provided on the circumstances of their creation and publication, the priority of the great Russian scientist in a number of scientific questions is emphasized, and full bibliographic references are given for the books mentioned by M. V. Lomonosov in the text of his works. The reasonable conciseness and practical efficiency of all the commentaries and notes should be emphasized.

The reader will note with satisfaction the fact that substantial variants of a number of passages in the manuscripts have been reflected in the edition. Undoubtedly deserving of approval is the fact that the footnotes reproduce words and phrases crossed out in the course of the work by M. V. Lomonosov himself. This makes it possible to imagine especially vividly the course of the scholar’s thought, as if to visit his creative laboratory.

The first volume is illustrated with photocopies of several pages from M. V. Lomonosov’s original manuscripts, as well as with title pages of editions in which his first scientific works were published. The book opens with a color reproduction of a portrait of M. V. Lomonosov by an unknown artist of the eighteenth century. The strict, calm design of the binding leaves the most pleasant impression. In everything one senses a concern that the scientific heritage of the great Russian scholar should be presented to the Soviet reader in a worthy form.

The appearance of the first volume of the Complete Works of M. V. Lomonosov is the result of extensive scholarly work by an entire collective of Soviet scholars. Significant work has been carried out in examining a vast quantity of archival documents, crowned by most valuable discoveries of previously unknown works by M. V. Lomonosov.

The Party, the Soviet state, and the Soviet people honor the memory of the best sons of our homeland. In the Soviet country all the treasures of Russian science are placed at the disposal of the people.

With great interest Soviet readers await the appearance of the subsequent volumes of the works of Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov.