Chapter II: Preface

As this is the only Life of Sir Isaac Newton on any considerable scale that has yet appeared, I have experienced great difficulty in preparing it for the public. The materials collected by preceding biographers were extremely scanty; the particulars of his early life, and even the historical details of his discoveries, have been less perfectly preserved than those of his illustrious predecessors; and it is not creditable to his disciples that they have allowed a whole century to elapse without any suitable record of the life and labours of a master who united every claim to their affection and gratitude.

In drawing up this volume, I have obtained much assistance from the account of Sir Isaac Newton in the Biographia Britannica; from the letters to Oldenburg, and other papers in Bishop Horsley’s edition of his works; from Turnor’s Collections for the History of the Town and Soke of Grantham; from M. Biot’s excellent Life of Newton in the Biographie Universelle; and from Lord King’s Life and Correspondence of Locke.

Although these works contain much important information respecting the Life of Newton, yet I have been so fortunate as to obtain many new materials of considerable value.

To the kindness of Lord Braybrooke I have been indebted for the interesting correspondence of Newton, Mr. Pepys, and Mr. Millington, which is now published for the first time, and which throws much light upon an event in the life of our author that has recently acquired an unexpected and a painful importance. These letters, when combined with those which passed between Newton and Locke, and with a curious extract from the manuscript diary of Mr. Abraham Pryme, kindly furnished to me by his collateral descendant Professor Pryme of Cambridge, fill up a blank in his history, and have enabled me to delineate in its true character that temporary indisposition which, from the view that has been taken of it by foreign philosophers, has been the occasion of such deep distress to the friends of science and religion.

To Professor Whewell, of Cambridge, I owe very great obligations for much valuable information. Professor Rigaud, of Oxford, to whose kindness I have on many other occasions been indebted, supplied me with several important facts, and with extracts from the diary of Hearne in the Bodleian Library, and from the original correspondence between Newton and Flamstead, which the president of Corpus Christi College had for this purpose committed to his care; and Dr. J. C. Gregory, of Edinburgh, the descendant of the illustrious inventor of the reflecting telescope, allowed me to use his unpublished account of an autograph manuscript of Sir Isaac Newton, which was found among the papers of David Gregory, Savilian Professor of Astronomy at Oxford, and which throws some light on the history of the Principia.

I have been indebted to many other friends for the communication of books and facts, but especially to Sir William Hamilton, Bart., whose liberality in promoting literary inquiry is not limited to the circle of his friends.

D. B.

_Allerly, June 1st, 1831._

CONTENTS.

Page
CHAPTER I.

The Pre-eminence of Sir Isaac Newton’s Reputation—The Interest
attached to the Study of his Life and Writings—His Birth and
Parentage—His early Education—Is sent to Grantham School—
His early Attachment to Mechanical Pursuits—His Windmill—His
Water-clock—His Self-moving Cart—His Sun-dials—His Preparation
for the University 17

CHAPTER II.

Newton enters Trinity College, Cambridge—Origin of his Propensity
for Mathematics—He studies the Geometry of Descartes unassisted—
Purchases a Prism—Revises Dr. Barrow’s Optical Lectures—Dr.
Barrow’s Opinion respecting Colours—Takes his Degrees—Is
appointed a Fellow of Trinity College—Succeeds Dr. Barrow in the
Lucasian Chair of Mathematics 26

CHAPTER III.

Newton occupied in grinding Hyperbolical Lenses—His first
Experiments with the Prism made in 1666—He discovers the
Composition of White Light, and the different Refrangibility of the
Rays which compose it—Abandons his Attempts to improve Refracting
Telescopes, and resolves to attempt the Construction of Reflecting
ones—He quits Cambridge on account of the Plague—Constructs
two Reflecting Telescopes in 1668, the first ever executed—One
of them examined by the Royal Society, and shown to the King—He
constructs a Telescope with Glass Specula—Recent History of the
Reflecting Telescope—Mr. Airy’s Glass Specula—Hadley’s Reflecting
Telescopes—Short’s—Herschel’s—Ramage’s—Lord Oxmantown’s 30

CHAPTER IV.

He delivers a Course of Optical Lectures at Cambridge—Is elected
Fellow of the Royal Society—He communicates to them his
Discoveries on the different Refrangibility and Nature of Light—
Popular Account of them—They involve him in various Controversies—
His Dispute with Pardies—Linus—Lucas—Dr. Hooke and Mr. Huygens—
The Influence of these Disputes on the mind of Newton 47

CHAPTER V.

Mistake of Newton in supposing that the Improvement of Refracting
Telescopes was hopeless—Mr. Hall invents the Achromatic Telescope—
Principles of the Achromatic Telescope explained—It is reinvented
by Dollond, and improved by future Artists—Dr. Blair’s Aplanatic
Telescope—Mistakes in Newton’s Analysis of the Spectrum—Modern
Discoveries respecting the Structure of the Spectrum 63

CHAPTER VI.

Colours of thin Plates first studied by Boyle and Hooke—Newton
determines the Law of their Production—His Theory of Fits of
easy Reflection and Transmission—Colours of thick Plates 75

CHAPTER VII.

Newton’s Theory of the Colours of Natural Bodies explained—
Objections to it stated—New Classification of Colours—Outline of
a new Theory proposed 82

CHAPTER VIII.

Newton’s Discoveries respecting the Inflection or Diffraction of
Light—Previous Discoveries of Grimaldi and Dr. Hooke—Labours
of succeeding Philosophers—Law of Interference of Dr. Young—
Fresnel’s Discoveries—New Theory of Inflection on the Hypothesis
of the Materiality of Light 98

CHAPTER IX.

Miscellaneous Optical Researches of Newton—His Experiments on
Refraction—His Conjecture respecting the Inflammability of the
Diamond—His Law of Double Refraction—His Observations on the
Polarization of Light—Newton’s Theory of Light—His “Optics” 106

CHAPTER X.

Astronomical Discoveries of Newton—Necessity of combined Exertion
to the completion of great Discoveries—Sketch of the History or
Astronomy previous to the time of Newton—Copernicus, 1473–1543—
Tycho Brahe, 1546–1601—Kepler, 1571–1631—Galileo, 1564–1642 110

CHAPTER XI.

The first Idea of Gravity occurs to Newton in 1666—His first
Speculations upon it—Interrupted by his Optical Experiments—He
resumes the Subject in consequence of a Discussion with Doctor
Hooke—He discovers the true Law of Gravity and the Cause of the
Planetary Motions—Dr. Halley urges him to publish his Principia—
His Principles of Natural Philosophy—Proceedings of the Royal
Society on this Subject—The Principia appears in 1687—General
Account of it, and of the Discoveries it contains—They meet with
great Opposition, owing to the Prevalence of the Cartesian System—
Account of the Reception and Progress of the Newtonian Philosophy
in Foreign Countries—Account of its Progress and Establishment
in England 140

CHAPTER XII.

Doctrine of Infinite Quantities—Labours of Pappus—Kepler—Cavaleri—
Roberval—Fermat—Wallis—Newton discovers the Binomial Theorem and
the Doctrine of Fluxions in 1606—His Manuscript Work containing
this Doctrine communicated to his Friends—His Treatise on
Fluxions—His Mathematical Tracts—His Universal Arithmetic—His
Methodus Differentialis—His Geometria Analytica—His Solution of
the Problems proposed by Bernouilli and Leibnitz—Account of the
celebrated Dispute respecting the Invention of Fluxions—Commercium
Epistolicum—Report of the Royal Society—General View of the
Controversy 168

CHAPTER XIII.

James II. attacks the Privileges of the University of Cambridge--
Newton chosen one of the Delegates to resist this Encroachment—He
is elected a Member of the Convention Parliament—Burning of his
Manuscript—His supposed Derangement of Mind—View taken of this
by foreign Philosophers—His Correspondence with Mr. Pepys and
Mr. Locke at the time of his Illness—Mr. Millington’s Letter to
Mr. Pepys on the subject of Newton’s Illness—Refutation of the
Statement that he laboured under Mental Derangement 200

CHAPTER XIV.

No Mark of National Gratitude conferred upon Newton—Friendship
between him and Charles Montague, afterward Earl of Halifax—Mr.
Montague appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1694—He resolves
upon a Recoinage—Nominates Mr. Newton Warden of the Mint in 1695—
Mr. Newton appointed Master of the Mint in 1699—Notice of the
Earl of Halifax—Mr. Newton elected Associate of the Academy of
Sciences in 1699—Member for Cambridge in 1701—and President of
the Royal Society in 1703—Queen Anne confers upon him the Honour
of Knighthood in 1705—Second Edition of the Principia, edited by
Cotes—His Conduct respecting Mr. Ditton’s Method of finding the
Longitude 223

CHAPTER XV.

Respect in which Newton was held at the Court of George I.—The
Princess of Wales delighted with his Conversation—Leibnitz
endeavours to prejudice the Princess against Sir Isaac and Locke—
Controversy occasioned by his Conduct—The Princess obtains a
Manuscript Abstract of his System of Chronology—The Abbé Conti
is, at her request, allowed to take a Copy of it on the promise of
Secrecy—He prints it surreptitiously in French, accompanied with a
Refutation by M. Freret—Sir Isaac’s Defence of his System—Father
Souciet attacks it, and is answered by Dr. Halley—Sir Isaac’s
larger Work on Chronology published after his Death—Opinions
respecting it—Sir Isaac’s Paper on the Form of the most ancient
Year 234

CHAPTER XVI.

Theological Studies of Sir Isaac—Their Importance to Christianity—
Motives to which they have been ascribed—Opinions of Biot and
La Place considered—His Theological Researches begun before his
supposed Mental Illness—The Date of these Works fixed—Letters
to Locke—Account of his Observations on Prophecy—His Lexicon
Propheticum—His Four Letters to Dr. Bentley—Origin of Newton’s
Theological Studies—Analogy between the Book of Nature and that
of Revelation 242

CHAPTER XVII.

The Minor Discoveries and Inventions of Newton—His Researches on
Heat—On Fire and Flame—On Elective Attraction—On the Structure
of Bodies—His supposed Attachment to Alchymy—His Hypothesis
respecting Ether as the Cause of Light and Gravity—On the
Excitation of Electricity in Glass—His Reflecting Sextant invented
before 1700—His Reflecting Microscope—His Prismatic Reflector as
a Substitute for the small Speculum of Reflecting Telescopes—His
Method of varying the Magnifying Power of Newtonian Telescopes—
His Experiments on Impressions on the Retina 265

CHAPTER XVIII.

His Acquaintance with Dr. Pemberton—Who edits the Third Edition of
the Principia—His first Attack of ill Health—His Recovery—He is
taken ill in consequence of attending the Royal Society—His Death
on the 20th March, 1727—His Body lies in state—His Funeral—He is
buried in Westminster Abbey—His Monument described—His Epitaph—
A Medal struck in honour of him—Roubiliac’s full-length Statue of
him erected in Cambridge—Division of his Property—His Successors
284

CHAPTER XIX.

Permanence of Newton’s Reputation—Character of his Genius—His
Method of Investigation similar to that used by Galileo—Error in
ascribing his Discoveries to the Use of the Methods recommended by
Lord Bacon—The Pretensions of the Baconian Philosophy examined—
Sir Isaac Newton’s Social Character—His great Modesty—The
Simplicity of his Character—His Religious and Moral Character—
His Hospitality and Mode of Life—His Generosity and Charity—His
Absence—His Personal Appearance—Statues and Pictures of him—
Memorials and Recollections of him 292

APPENDIX, No. I.—Observations on the Family of Sir Isaac Newton 307

APPENDIX, No. II.—Letter from Sir Isaac Newton to Francis Aston,
Esq., a young Friend who was on the eve of setting out on his
Travels 316

APPENDIX, No. III.—“A Remarkable and Curious Conversation between
Sir Isaac Newton and Mr. Conduit.” 320

LIFE

OF

SIR ISAAC NEWTON.