Eye-witness account of Newton's death John Conduitt c. 493 words Newton Project London 2006 Newton Project, Imperial College

This text is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

 c. 1727-8, c. 498 words, 2 pp. 2 pp. Note on Newton's 'unpromising' infancy and (deleted) eulogy of Alexander Pope [Keynes Ms. 130.16]Keynes Ms. 130Notes on Newton's suitability for canonisation if not deification [Keynes Ms. 130.14] Keynes Ms. 130.15, King's College, Cambridge, UK UKCambridgeKing's College Keynes Mss Keynes Ms. 130.15 SL212

17

 c. 1727-8 English 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 Updated to Newton V3.0 (TEI P5 Schema) by Michael Hawkins Catalogue exported to teiHeader by Michael Hawkins
5

& the book com̄mmonly laying before him & wchwhich he read often at last was a duodecimo bible, he writt the smallest but a very distinct & legible hand & to the I found his eyes bloodshod one morning & he complained something swam before his eyes & when I asked him what he thought had occasioned that disorder he said he believed that he had overstrained the optick nerves for for a the morning or two last past he had waked before the sun was quite up & had endeavoured to see what a clock it was then on his watch by a very little light that came thro the curtain & shutter upon wchwhich he left that off & found out the hour by feeling the hand & his eyes soon recovered at one time he had thought so intensely on the sun & looked so much on the body of it to make his observations that for some time it appeared constantly before his eyes – He wrote small but very distinct & legible hand & to the last his hand was very steady —

Had voided two stones broken – together as big as a pea – 3 years ago

Sect Came to town perfectly well told me the 1st of March — the sunday before he had slept from 11. to 8 – his great fatigue in town & complaisance brought his mar he brought his distemper upon him – he was ill on the friday follgfollowing being 3d – continued so – I not hearing till Saturday the 11. sent Mead & Cheselden – stone in bladder he seemed easier on WeddayWednesday – 15 & wee had some hopes – but he grew worse & sense failed him weaker & weaker on Friday a violent looseness – his senses perfectly to on Saturday 18 – a long discourse with Dr Mead – that evening seemed to be insensible & conti grew weaker & all Sunday was quite insensible & seemed to be quiet & free fom pain – on Monday the 20th at 1 – in the morning he died without any gre appearance of pain —–

made no necessities

patient thought

Philosophy less mischeivous

day Oliver died measure force of wind by jumping with & against it

use legs have legs —–

handiness —– E.Earl Pembroke's song have legs & use legs – day Oliver died – tried —

Morality of Socrates – knowledge of Pythagoras Story of Socrates standing in the market place 24 – hours distrait –

His furnace at Cambridge preserved religiously & shewn to strangers —

Story of Caton the joiner at Cambridge who made a tub a square hollow piece of wood nine foot deep filled with water, glasses at distance let fall balls of wax – SrSir Isaac at bottom looking glass broke – wonder being very thick – Caton you do not know the force of water —