In this article, the previously underrepresented contributions of Natanson to the field of thermodynamics have been presented. In order to identify a source of irreversibility at Nature, Natanson introduced the concept of Coertia, which is similar to inertia. Natanson’s Coertia is a fundamental property of space that is responsible for every irreversible phenomena in matter, as well as in the electromagnetic and gravitational fields. We focus on the mathematical reconstruction of a few of his principal ideas that until now have been neglected by the literature. To set these ideas in proper epistemological order, we thought it would be valuable to first revalue and reconstruct some missing parts of the proceedings process by Ladislavus Natanson constructed their thermodynamics. We also aimed to present Natanson’s achievements against the background of modern continuum mechanics, exemplifying old but still relevant approaches. We propose that Natanson’s ideas were ahead of their time by about one century. Give that scientist was educated in the scientific royal way: chemistry, through mechanic of solid and fluid, thermodynamics, electro-chemistry, electrodynamics, early quantum and relativistic mechanics, we can closely compare their conceptions and solutions. Natanson was in strong opposition with Newtonian mechanisms, the Maupertuis least action principle formed the basis of his activities, which they were developing as a sum of elementary quantum actions.