Two letters from Humphrey Newton to John Conduitt, dated 17 January and 14 February 1727/8 Humphrey Newton c. 2,168 words Newton Project London 2006 Newton Project, Imperial College

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 17 January and 14 February 1727/8, in English, c. 2,182 words, each 4 pp.

Humphrey Newton (no relation) was Newton's amanuensis from c. 1683-9. Both letters are largely given over to (rather vague) reminiscences of Newton.

 each 4 pp.

in English

 Keynes Ms. 135, King's College, Cambridge, UK UKCambridgeKing's College Keynes Mss Keynes Ms. 135 SL219

Bought at the Sotheby sale by Keynes for £32.

17

 17 January and 14 February 1727/8 English Greek Latin Holograph Biography Catalogue information compiled by Rob Iliffe, Peter Spargo & John Young Tagged transcription by Rebekah Higgitt Checked against microfilm by John Young Coding audited and updated to Newton v2.0 DTD by Michael Hawkins Coding reviewed and updated to Newton v2.1 DTD by John Young Updated to Newton V3.0 (TEI P5 Schema) by Michael Hawkins Catalogue exported to teiHeader by Michael Hawkins

SrSir

Receiving yrsyours return as perfect & as faithful Account of my deceased friend's Transactions as possibly does at this Time occur to my memory Had I had yethe least Thought of gratifying after this manner, Sr.Sir IsIsaac's ffriend, I should have taken a much strickerstricter view of his Life & Actions.

In yethe last year of K.King Charles 2d. SrSir Isaac was pleas'd through yethe Mediation of Dr. Walker (then Schoolmaster at Grantham) to send for me up to Cambridge, of whom I had the opportunity as wellwell as Honr.Honour to wait of, for about 5 years, in wchwhich time he wrote his Principia Mathematica, wchwhich stupendous work, by his order, I copied out, before it went to yethe Press. After yethe Printing Sr.Sir Is.Isaac was pleas'd to send me wthwith several of Them, as Presents, to some of yethe Heads of Colledges, & others of his Acquaintance, some of wch.which (particularly Dr. Babington of Trinity) said That They might study seven years, before They understood any thing of it. His carriage then was very meek, sedate & humble, never seemingly angry, of profound Thoughts, his Countenance mild, pleasant & Comely; I cannot say, I ever saw him laugh, but once, wch.which was at ytthat Passage, wch.which Dr. Stewkley mentioned in his Letter, to yr.your Honr:Honour wch:which put me in mind of yethe Ephesian Phylosopher, who laugh'd only once in his Life Time, to see an Ass, eating Thistles, when Plenty of Grass was by. He always kept Close to his Studyes, very rarely went a visiting, & had as few Visitors, excepting 2 or 3 Persons, Mr. Ellis of Keys, Mr. Lougham of Trinity, & Mr. Vigani, a Chymist, in whose Company he took much Delight and Pleasure at an Evening, when he came to wait upon Him. I never knew him take any Recreation or Pastime, either in Riding out to take yethe Air, Walking, bowling, or any other Exercise whatever, Thinking all Hours lost, ytthat was not spent in his Studyes, to wch.which he kept so close, ytthat he seldom left his Chamber unless at Term Time, when he read in yethe Schools, as being Lucasianus Professor, where so few went to hear Him, & fewer ytthat understood him, ytthat oftimes he did in a manner, for want of Hearers, read to yethe Walls. fforeigners He received wth.with a great deal of ffreedom; Candour, & Respect. When invited to a Treat, wch.which was very seldom us'd to return it very handsomely, freely, & wth.with much satisfaction to Himself. So intent, so serious upon his Studies, ytthat he eat very sparingly, nay, oftimes he has forget to eat at all, so ytthat going into his Chamber, I have found his Mess untouch'd, of wch:which when I have reminded him, would reply, Have I; & then making to yethe Table, would eat a bit or two standing, for I cannot say, I ever saw Him sit at Table by himself, At some seldom EntertainmtsEntertainments yethe Masters of Colledges were chiefly his Guests. He very rarely went to Bed, till 2 or 3 of yethe clock, sometimes not till 5 or 6, lying about 4 or 5 hours, especially at spring & ffall of yethe Leaf, at wch.which Times he us'd to imploy about 6 weeks in his Elaboratory, the ffire scarcely going out either Night or Day, he siting up one Night, as I did another till he had finished his Chymical Experiments, in yethe Performances of wch.which he was yethe most accurate, strict, exact: What his Aim might be, I was not able to penetrate into but his Paine, his Diligence at those sett times, made me think, he aim'd at somthing beyond yethe Reach of humane Art & Industry. I cannot say, I ever saw him drink, either wine Ale or Bear, excepting Meals, & then but very sparingly. He very rarely went to Dine in yethe Hall unless upon some Publick Dayes, & then if He has not been minded, would go very carelessly, wthwith shoes down at Heels, stockins unty'd, surplice on, & his Head scarcely comb'd. As for his Opticks As for his Opticks being burnt, I know Nothing of it, but as I had heard from Others, That Accident happening before he writ his PrincipPrincipia. He was very Curious in his Garden, wch.which was never out of Order, in wch.which he would, at some seldom Times, take a short Walk or two, not enduring to see a weed in it; On yethe left end of yethe Garden, was his Elaboratory, near yethe East end of yethe Chappell, where hies, at these sett Times, employ'd himself in, with a great deal of satisfaction & Delight. Nothing extraordinary, as I can Remember, happen'd in making his Experiments, wch.which if there did, He was of so sedate & even Temper, ytthat I could not in yethe least discern it. He very seldom went to yethe Chappel, ytthat being yethe Time he chiefly took his Repose; And as for for yethe Afternoons, his earnest & indefatigable Studyes retain'd Him, so ytthat He scarcely knewe yethe Hour of Prayer. Very frequently on Sundays he went to St.Saint Mary's Church, especially in yethe fore Noons. I know Nothing of yethe Writings, wch:which yryour HonrHonour sent, only ytthat it is his own Hand, I am very certain of, believing he might write Them at some leasure Hours, before he sett upon his more serious & weighty Matters. SrSir Is.Isaac at ytthat Time had no Pupills, nor any Chamber ffellow, for ytthat would I presume to think, would not in yethe least have been agreeable to his Studies. He was only once disorder'd with pains at yethe stomach, wch.which confin'd Him for some days to his Bed, wchwhich he bare with a great deal of Patience & Magnanimity, seemingly indifferent either to live or dye. He seeing me much Concern'd at his Illness, bid me not trouble my self, for if, said he, I dye, I shall leave you an Estate, wchwhich he then mention'd.

SrSir this is wt.what I can at ꝑpresent recollect, hoping it may in some Measure satisfy yr.your Quæries.

My wife at this Time is brought to Bed of a son, whom I intent to Nominate after my dear deceased ffriend, would you please to honour me so far, as to substitute Dr. Stewkly to stand as witness, I should take it as a very singular ffavour, & would very much

oblige, SrSir, yr.your most humbble

& obedient ServtServant.

Humphrey Newton

Ian.17. –278 Grantham

SrSir I return yryour Honr.Honour a great many Thanks for yethe ffavour you have done me, in deputing Dr: Stewkley to stand in yr.your stead, as witness to my son. It is out of my Sphere to make any grateful Return, therefore doubt not but Yr.Your Goodness, will in ytthat Point, excuse my Deficiency. I have bethought my self about Sr.Sir Isaac's Life, as much as possibly I can. About 6 weeks at Spring & 6 at yethe ffall yethe fire in yethe Elaboratory scarcely went out, wchwhich was well furnished with chymical Materials, as Bodyes, Receivers, ffends, Crucibles &c, wch.which was made very little use of, yethe Crucibles excepted, in wch.which he fused his Metals: He would sometimes, thô very seldom,) look into an old mouldy Book, wch.which lay in his Elaboratory, I think it was titled, – Agricola de Metallis, The transmuting of Metals, being his Chief Design, for wch:which Purpose Antimony was a great Ingredient. Near his Elaboratory was his Garden, wch.which was kept in Order by a Gardiner I scarelyscarcely ever saw him do any thing (as pruning &c) at it himself. When he has sometimes taken a Turn or two, has made a sudden stand, turn'd himself about, run up yethe stairs, like another AlchimedesArchimedes, with an Εὔρηκα, fall to write on his Desk standing, without giving himself the Leasure to draw a Chair to sit down in. At some seldom Times when he design'd to dine in yethe Hall, would turn to yethe left hand, & go out into yethe street, where making a stop, when he found his Mistake, would hastily turn back, & then sometimes instead of going into yethe Hall, would return to his Chamber again. When he read in yethe Schools, he usually staid about half an hour, when he had no AuditrsAuditors he Com̄mmonly return'd in a 4th part of that time or less. Mr Laughton, who was then yethe Library Keeper of Trin.Trinity Coll.College resorted much to his Chamber, if he com̄mmenc'd Dr:Doctor after ytthat, I know not. His Telescope, wch.which was at ytthat Time, as near as I could guess, not near was near 5 foot long, wch.which he plac'd at yethe head of yethe stairs, going down into yethe Garden, buting towards yethe East, what Observations he might make, I know not, but several of his Observations about Comets & yethe Planets may be found scatter'd here & there in a Book intitled, The Elemts.Elements of Astronomy, by Dr. David Gregory. He would with great acutness answer a Question, but would very seldom start one. Dr: Boerhaave (I think it is) Prof.Professor Lips.Lipsiae in some of his writings, speaking of Sr.Sir Is.Isaac That man, says he, Comprehends as much as all mankind besides. In his Chamber he walk'd so very much, ytthat you might have thought him to be educated at Athens among yethe Aristotelian sects. His Brick ffurnaces ꝑpro re natâ, he made & alter'd himself, wthwithout troubling a Brick-layer. He very seldom sat by yethe ffire in his Chamber, excepting ytthat long frosty winter, wch.which made him creep to it against his will. I can't say, I ever saw him wear a Night-Gown, but his wearing Cloathes, that he put off at Night, at Night, do I say, yea rather towards yethe Morning, he put on again at his Rising. He never slept in yethe Day Time, ytthat I ever perceived. I believde he grudg'd ytthat short Time he spent in eating & sleeping. Ἀνέχου καὶ ᾽χπὲχου may very well be & truly be said of him, he always thinking wth.with Bishop Sanderson, Temperance to be yethe best Physick. In a Morning he seem'd to be as much refresh'd with his few hours sleep, as though he had taken a whole Night's rest. He kept neither Dog nor Cat in his Chamber, wch:which made well for yethe old woman, his Bed-maker, she faring much yethe better for it, for in a Morning, she has sometimes found both Dinner & Supper scarcely tasted of, wch.which yethe old woman has very pleasantly & mumpingly gone away with. As for his private Prayers, I can say nothing of them, I am apt to believe his intense Studying depriv'd him of yethe better Part. His Behaviour was mild & meek, without Anger, Peevishness or Passion, so free from ytthat, That you might take him for a Stoick. I have seen a smal pasteboard Box in his study set against yethe open window, no less as one might suppose, then a 1000 Guin.Guineas in it crowded Edgewayes, whether this was suspitcion or CarlesnessCarelessness I cannot say, perhaps to try yethe ffidelity of those about him. In Winter Time, he was a Lover of Apples, & sometimes at a Night would eat a smal roasted Quince. His thoughts were his Books, thô he had a large study, seldom Consulted with them. When he was about 30 years of Age, his gray Hairs was very Comely, & his smiling Countenance made him so much yethe more graceful. He was very Charitable, few went empty handed from him. Mr. Pilkinton, who liv'd at Market-Orton, died in a mean Condition (thô formerly he had a plentiful Estate) whose Widdow with 5 or 6 Children Sr.Sir Is.Isaac maintain'd several years together. He com̄mmonly gave his poor Relations (for no ffamilies so rich, but there is some Poor among them) when they apply'd themselves to him, no less then 5. Guineas as they themselves have told me. He has given yethe Porter many a Shilling, not for leting him at yethe Gates at unseasonable Hours, for ytthat he abhor'd, never knowing him out of his Chamber at such Times. No way litigious, not givingen to Law or vexatious suits, taking Patience to be yethe best Law, & a good Conscience yethe best Divinity. Says Seneca, some Body will demonstrate, wch.which way Comets wander, why they go so far from yethe rest of yethe Celestial Bodies, how big, & what sort of Bodies they are, wch.which had he lived been Contemporary wth.with Sr.Sir Is.Isaac he might have seen this Prophecy of his fulfill'd by ytthat wonder of his Age. Could Yr.Your Honr.Honour pick some things out of this indigested Mass, worthy to be inserted into yethe Life of so great, so good, & so illustrious a Person, as Sr.Sir Isaac Newton! it would be of infinite Satisfaction to him, Sr.Sir who is Yr.Your Honrs.Honours most humbhumble & most obedient Servt.Servant H: Newton ffeb: 17. 17278 Grantham