The Life of Sir Isaac Newton: Containing an Account of His Numerous Inventions and Discoveries; and a Brief Sketch of the History of Astronomy Previous to His Time. Compiled from Authenic Documents |
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Abbe Conti afterwards ancient appear astronomy attraction Biot blue bodies calculus Cambridge cause celebrated centre colours comets consequence considered curves degree differential calculus discovered discoveries distance doctrine earth exhibited experiments facts force fringes Galileo genius geology glass gravity Halley heat Hipparchus honour Hooke Huygens inquiries instrument invention James Gregory John Newton Keill Kepler knowledge labours Leibnitz letter London manuscript mathematical ment method of fluxions mind moon motion nature never Newtonian object observations Oldenburg opinion Optics orbit papers particles phenomena philosopher planets plates possession Principia principles prism produced published rays of light received reflecting telescope reflexion refraction refrangibility remarkable Richard Newton Royal Society scholium Sir Isaac Newton space spectrum stars supposed surface theory thought tion tonian transmitted transparent Trinity College truth Tycho Tycho Brahe universe Whiston white light Woolsthorpe yellow
Popular passages
Page 270 - I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.
Page 227 - He gave this and the Prophecies of the Old Testament, not to gratify men's curiosities by enabling them to foreknow things, but that after they were fulfilled they might be interpreted by the event, and his own Providence, not the Interpreters, be then manifested thereby to the world.
Page 136 - I now design to suppress. Philosophy is such an impertinently litigious Lady, that a man had as good be engaged in lawsuits, as have to do with her.
Page 195 - I could not have believed what you tell me of yourself, had I had it from anybody else. And though I cannot but be mightily troubled that you should have had so many wrong and unjust thoughts of me...
Page 250 - I repeated a second and a third time. At the third time, when the phantasm of light and colours about it were almost vanished, intending my fancy upon them to see their last appearance, I found, to my amazement, that they began to return, and by little and little to become as lively and vivid as when I had newly looked upon the sun. But when I ceased to intend my fancy upon them they vanished again. After this...
Page 250 - And now, in a few hours' time, I had brought my eyes to such a pass, that I could look upon no bright object with either eye but I saw the sun before me, so that I durst neither write nor read ; but to recover the use of my eyes, shut myself up in my chamber made dark, for three days together, and used all means to divert my imagination from the sun. For if I thought upon him, I presently saw his picture, though I was in the dark.
Page 136 - I must again beg you," says he, " not to let your resentments run so high as to deprive us of your third book, wherein your applications of your mathematical doctrine to the theory of comets, and several curious experiments, which, as I guess by what you write ought to compose it, will undoubtedly render it acceptable to those who will call themselves philosophers without mathematics, which are much the greater number.
Page 186 - Newton came from chapel, and had seen what was done, every one thought he would have run mad, he was so troubled thereat that he was not himself for a month after.
Page 93 - When I made the foregoing observations, I designed to repeat most of them with more care and exactness, and to make some new ones for determining the manner how the rays of light are bent in their passage by bodies for making the fringes of colours with the dark lines between them.
Page 195 - I shall always be ready to serve you to my utmost, in any way you shall like, and shall only need your commands or permission to do it.