Strickland L. (ed.) Leibniz and the two Sophies: the philosophical correspondence

University Of Chicago Press, 2011. — 484 p.This is an English translation (very largely from the French) of what the editor has termed philosophical correspondence between Leibniz and his patron, Electress Sophie of Hanover (1630-1714) and the latter's daughter, Queen Sophie Charlotte of Prussia (1668-1705). The entire correspondence between Leibniz and the two women spans some 750 items on a variety of topics, mainly politics and courtly matters. Of these, the vast majority (ca. 600 items) concern Sophie of Hanover, who outlived her daughter and who entertained closer relations with Leibniz not just as philosopher but also as official historian and court advisor. For the present volume Strickland has selected only those letters which bear on what he considers to be philosophy. He has also excerpted paragraphs on philosophy from letters that deal with many other topics. This makes up a small collection of 81 letters or excerpts from letters from the period 1691-1714, as well as nine fragments and three short supplementary texts, pertaining respectively to (1) the prophecies of Rosamund Juliane von der Asseburg, (2) the metaphysics of J. H. von Fleming, and (3) the preface by Leibniz (possibly with the help of F. M. van Helmont) to the second edition of Boethius's Consolation of Philosophy (1696). The correspondence includes topics covered in these fragments and short supplemental texts.