Letter from Newton to Henry Oldenburg, dated 25 January 1675/6

Jan. 25. 16 $\frac{75}{76}$ .

SrSir I received both your's & thank you for yoryour care in disposing those things between me & Mr Linus. I suppose his friends cannot blame you at all for printing his first Letter, it being written I beleive for that end, & they never complaining of yethe printing of ytthat but of yethe not printing that wchwhich followed, wchwhich I take my self to have been per accidens yethe occasion of by refusing to answer him. And though I think I may truly say I was very little concernd about it, yet I must look upon it as yethe result of yoryour kindnes to me ytthat you was unwilling to print it wthwithout an answer. As to yethe printing Paper of Observations wchwhich you move in yethe name of yethe Society to have printed, I cannot but return them my hearty thanks for yethe kind acceptance they meet wthwith there; & know not how to deny any thing wchwhich they desire should be done. Only I think it will be best to suspend yethe printing of them for a while because I have some thoughts of writing such another set of Observations for determining yethe manner of yethe production of colours by yethe Prism, wchwhich, if done at all, ought to precede ytthat now in yoryour hands, & will do best to be joyned wthwith it. But this I cannot do at prsentlypresently by reason of some incumbrances lately put upon me by some friends, & some other buisines of my own wchwhich at prsentpresent almost take up my time & thoughts. The additions that I intended, I think I must after putting you to so long expectations disappoint you in: for it puzzels me how to connect them wthwith what I sent you; & if I had those papers yet I doubt yethe things I intended will not come in so freely as I thought they might have done. I could send them described wthwithout dependance on those papers, but I fear I have already troubled yethe Society & yoryour self too much wthwith my scribbling, & so suppose it may do better to defer them till another season. I have therefore at prsentpresent only sent you two or three alterations though not of so great moment ytthat I need have stayed you for them: & they are these. Where I say that nat the frame of nature may be nothing but Æther condensed by a fermental principle, instead of those words write that it may be nothing but various contextures of some certain æthereal spirits or vapours condensed as it were by precipitation, much after yethe manner that vapors are condensed into water or exhalations into grosser substances, though not so easily condensible; & after condensation fced wrought into various forms, at first by yethe immediate hand of God the Creator, & ever since by yethe power of nature, who by virtue of yethe command Increas & multiply became became a complete imitator of yethe copies set her by yethe Protoplast. Thus perhaps may all things be originated from æther, &c. A little after where I say yethe æthereal spirit may be condensed in fermenting or burning bodies or otherwise inspissated in yethe pores of yethe earth to a tender matter wchwhich may be as it were yethe succus nutritious of yethe earth or primary substance out of wchwhich things generable grow: instead of this you may write ytthat that spirit may be condensed in fermenting or burning bodies or otherwise coagulated in yethe pores of yethe earth & water into some kind of humid adctive matter for yethe continual uses of nature, adhering to yethe sides of those pores after yethe manner that vapors condense on yethe sides of a vessel. In yethe same paragraph there is, I think, a parenthesis in wchwhich I mention volatile Saltpeter, pray strike out that Parenthesis least it should give offence to somebody. Also where I relate yethe expetriment of little papers made to move variously wthwith a glas rubbed, I would have all that struck out wchwhich follows about trying yethe exptexperiment wthwith leaf gold. SrSir I am interrupted by a visit & so must in hast break of YorsYours Is. Newton Jan 25. 7

\frac{5}{6}