Catalogue Entry: THEM00096
Drafts of the 'Short Chronicle' and 'Original of Monarchies'
- Drafts of the 'Short Chronicle'
[Normalized Text] [Diplomatic Text] - Cataloguer's Notes for New College Oxford Ms. 361(1)B
[Normalized Text] [Diplomatic Text] - John Conduitt's description of Newton's draft of 'The Original of Monarchies'
[Normalized Text] [Diplomatic Text] - Scheme of the contents of 'The Original of Monarchies'
[Normalized Text] [Diplomatic Text] - Drafts of various parts of 'The Original of Monarchies'
[Normalized Text] [Diplomatic Text]
Contents
A. Drafts of the 'Short Chronicle' prefixed to The Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms Amended (London, 1728), some in English (one in a clerical hand) and some in Latin, c. 30,000 words in total, 85 ff.
'The Introduction' (2 pp.), on the backs of a draft letter to the Treasury about copper coinage technique (cf. Mint catalogue MINT00633 (II.356)) and a sheet of algebraic calculations and notes on the generation of organic bodies from water and on magnetic attraction.
'A short Chronicle from the first memory of things in Europe to the conquest of Persia by Alexander the great' (8 ff.)
Another draft of the above (9 ff.)
Further draft, including the 'Introduction' (12 ff.)
Clerical copy of the above with emendations by Newton (19 ff.)
Two very rough partial drafts (3 ff.)
Partial Latin draft: 'Rerum ante Imperium Romanum gestarum Chronicon parvum' (4 ff.)
Another partial Latin draft (7 ff.)
Third partial Latin draft (2 ff.)
B. Drafts of various parts of 'The Original of Monarchies' (cf. King's College, Cambridge, Keynes Ms. 146), mainly in English, c. 50,000 words, 91 ff. Preceded by three folios in Conduitt's hand, headed 'Mss of Sr Is. Newton', containing a description of the manuscript and arguments for and against publication of some or all of it, given that much of it is duplicated in the published Chronology (1728) but some of it shows significant variants.
