Newton Isaac (section 4)

There are not wanting, even among writers conventionally termed orthodox, who were no strangers to his rejection of the Trinity, those, who recognize in Sir Isaac Newton the firm, enlightened and successful advocate of revelation. Alexander Chalmers, in his "Biographical Dictionary," tells us, that "he not only shewed a great and constant regard to religion in general, as well by his exemplary life as in all his writings, but was also a firm believer in revealed religion, with one exception, an important one indeed, that his sentiments on the doctrine of the Trinity by no means coincided with what is generally held." Dr. Chalmers, too, in the second of his "Discourses on the Christian Revelation viewed in connexion with Modern Astronomy," speaks of "the steady and unmoved Christianity of this wonderful man;" and says, "we see in the Theology of Newton, the very spirit and principle which gave all its stability, and all its sureness, to the Philosophy of Newton." Why, then, should the representatives of Newton, in the present day, evince so unconquerable a repugnance to make known to the world what his real sentiments were, as expressed in his unpublished manuscripts? The family of the Earl of Portsmouth, in whose custody they now are, have hitherto done all in their power to keep the contents of those on theological subjects a profound secret. Had these been favourable to the cause of reputed orthodoxy, they would doubtless long since have been made public; and the Trinitarian could then have appealed to them, as affording a triumphant refutation of the often-repeated assertion, that Sir Isaac Newton was a Unitarian.

When Wetstein requested permission to collate the imperfect copy of the "Historical Account of Two Notable Corruptions of Scripture," in the Remonstrant's Library, with the more perfect ones which were known to be in the possession of Sir Isaac's executors, the application, though several times repeated, was uniformly refused. At that time, no printed edition had appeared; for the first volume of Wetstein's New Testament, in which he alludes to his fruitless attempts to obtain access to these copies, was published in 1751, and the first edition of the " Historical Account" did not appear till 1754. It was probably owing to the publication of this imperfect edition, however, that Dr. Horsley was induced, tardily and reluctantly, to insert a correct impression of this valuable critical dissertation in his edition of Sir Isaac Newton's works. He was allowed free access to all the Newton manuscripts in the possession of the Portsmouth family, when he prepared that edition; but all that he condescended to inform the public was, that Sir Isaac left behind him a cart-load of papers on religious subjects, which he had examined, and found unfit for publication. The reason of this unfitness it is not difficult to conjecture. The publication of those papers would have disclosed more, than the favoured few, who had been admitted to an inspection of them, would have found convenient to make known. Dr. Thomas Thomson has had the moral courage to set this matter in its true light, in a "Biographical Account of Sir Isaac Newton," which he has reprinted, in the " Annals of Philosophy," from his " History of the Royal Society." In that part of the Memoir, which touches upon Sir Isaac's religious sentiments, he says,—"He not only shewed a great and constant regard to religion in general, as well by an exemplary life, as in all his writings, but was also a firm believer in Revealed Religion, as appears from many papers which he left behind him on this subject. But his notion of the Christian Religion was not founded on a narrow bottom, nor his charity and morality so scanty, as to shew coldness towards those who thought otherwise than he did, in matters indifferent, much less to admit of persecution, of which he always expressed the strongest abhorrence and detestation." To this passage he subjoins the following note. "I have heard it affirmed by some of the self-constituted Philosophers of the present day, that Sir Isaac Newton believed the Christian Religion, merely because he was born in a Christian country; that he never examined it; and that he left behind him a cart-load of papers on religious subjects, which Dr. Horsley examined, and declared unfit for publication. These gentlemen do not perceive that their assertions are inconsistent with each other. Nobody, who has ever read a page of Newton's works, would believe that he could write a cart-load of papers on a subject which he never examined. Newton's religious opinions were not orthodox. For example, he did not believe in the Trinity. This gives us the reason why Horsley, the champion of the Trinity, found Newton's papers unfit for publication. But it is much to be regretted, that they have never seen the light." In this expression of regret all will concur, who have any feeling of veneration for the character, and respect for the memory, of Sir Isaac Newton; and it will be a lasting reproach to those, who have it in their power to gratify the curiosity of the theological world on this subject, if the secret is allowed to remain much longer in the keeping of a few individuals, who have an interest, real or imaginary, in withholding it from the public.

Mr. Francis Bailey, in his valuable work on the Life and Correspondence of Flamstead, the Astronomer, and his contemporary, Sir Isaac Newton, informs us, that he had access to the unpublished works of the latter, in the possession of the Earl of Portsmouth's family; and that they are most important. He hints at the publication of at least a part of those valuable remains, under the auspices of government, provided the consent can be obtained of certain individuals, in whose custody they are. Has anything yet been done to realize the expectation thus held out; and if not, what is the cause of the delay? The public has a right to demand an answer to these questions. Newton's fame is national property; and there need be no fear that the cause of truth will suffer, from anything which bears the impress of his gigantic mind.

About ten, or a dozen years ago, it was said, that a recent examination of the large collection of Sir Isaac Newton's manuscripts had removed all doubt, with regard to his religious views; that they were found to be conclusive, as to his total rejection of the Trinity; and that, among the papers relating to Church History, were some severe strictures on the character of Athanasius. Here, then, lies all the difficulty. It is not the want of research, or the imbecility of mind, or the absence of reverence for things sacred, which these papers display. It is simply and solely the aid which they would lend to the Unitarian cause, and the consequent injury which Trinitarianism would sustain, by printing them, that is the great, and, as far as may be judged from present appearances, the insuperable bar to their publication.

In the absence of a more complete list of the theological writings of Sir Isaac Newton, published and unpublished, the reader is requested to accept the following, which, though far short in bulk of what Dr. Horsley's representation would lead us to expect, yet contains the titles of some works, which are hitherto very little known.

1. Observations upon the Prophecies of Daniel, and the Apocalypse of St. John, in two Parts: by Sir Isaac Newton. London, 1733, 4to. This work was published a few years after the death of the author, by his relation, Benjamin Smith. It is dedicated to Lord Chancellor King, the intimate friend of Sir Isaac Newton, who, "like him, amidst occupations of a different nature, made religion" his "voluntary study, and in all" his "inquiries and actions," shewed "the same inflexible adherence to truth and virtue." It is to be regretted, however, that the persecuting spirit of the times, in which these great men lived, kept them in awe, and prevented them from openly declaring their sentiments concerning the Trinity in their published writings.

2. An Historical Account of Two Notable Corruptions of Scripture, in a Letter to a Friend, by Sir Isaac Newton: published entire from a MS. in the Author's Hand-writing in the Possession of the Rev. Dr. Ekens, Dean of Carlisle. (Exactly reprinted from Bishop Horsley's Edition of Sir Isaac Newton's Works, Vol. V. 1785.) London, 1830, 8vo. An imperfect edition of this Letter appeared in 1754, under the title of "Two Letters from Sir Isaac Newton to M. Le Clerc."

3. Dissertations upon two other Texts, which Sir Isaac Newton believed that the Athanasians had attempted to corrupt. MS. Mr. Whiston, to whom we are indebted for our knowledge of the fact of these Dissertations having been written, was unable to state what the two texts were. But he informs us, in his "Collection of Authentic Records," that these Dissertations were to have been translated, probably into Latin, and published with No. 2; but having lain by for a considerable time, the paper was so decayed, that they could not well be translated, or published, till the author himself had transcribed and corrected them anew. Whether this was ever done, Mr. Whiston was unable to say.

4. Lexicon Propheticum. MS. To this was added,

5. A Dissertation on the Sacred Cubit of the Jews. The "Lexicon Propheticum" was left incomplete, and has never been published; but the Latin Dissertation which was appended to it, and in which the author shews that the Cubit was about 26 j Roman Uncise, was published in 1737, among the Miscellaneous Works of Mr. John Greaves.

6. Four Letters addressed to Dr. Bentley, containing some Arguments in Proof of a Deity. The originals of these Letters "were given by Dr. Richard Bentley to Cumberland, his nephew and executor, while a student at Trinity College, and were printed by him in a separate pamphlet in 1756. This publication was reviewed by Dr. Samuel Johnson in the Literary Magazine, Vol. I. p. 89. See Johnson's Works, [Ed. 1820,] Vol. II. p. 328. The original Letters are preserved in Trinity College, to which society they were given by Cumberland a short time before his death." (Monk's Life of Bentley, p. 33, Note.) The occasion of their composition was as follows. Bentley, in preparing for the press his Sermons at Boyle's Lectures, "encountered a difficulty which he was not able to solve, and he prudently transmitted to Sir Isaac, during 1692, a series of questions on the subject. This difficulty occurred in an argument urged by Lucretius, to prove the eternity of the world from a hypothesis of deriving the frame of it, by mechanical principles, from matter endowed with an innate power of gravity, and evenly scattered throughout the heavens. Sir Isaac willingly entered upon the consideration of the subject, and transmitted his sentiments to Dr. Bentley in the Four Letters. These Letters will repay the most attentive perusal by the Philosopher as well as the Divine. They are written with much perspicuity of language, and great power of thought, and they contain results which incontestably prove, that their author was fully master of his noblest faculties, and comprehended the profoundest parts of his own writings. They were even written in the middle of that period when want of sleep and appetite had disturbed the serenity of his mind, and enable us to prove that this disturbance, whatever was its amount, never affected the higher powers of his understanding." (Sir D. Brewster's Life of Newton, Chap, xvi.)

7. Of the Rule of Faith. MS.

8. A History of the Domination of the Clergy. MS. This and No. 7 are both mentioned by Whiston, in his "Authentic Records," as part of the unpublished papers of Sir Isaac Newton. A few weeks before his death, as we learn from Samuel Crellius, Sir Isaac threw into the fire a considerable part of his manuscripts; but he left some to be printed, among which, according to the testimony of the celebrated Dr. Mead, who was his medical attendant, was this work on "the Domination of the Clergy." Crellius describes him as well versed, not only in Mathematics and Natural Philosophy, but also in Theology and Ecclesiastical History; and the testimony of such a witness is not to be despised.

9. Papers concerning the Fourth Century, and that fatal Change, which was then made by Athanasius and his Followers. MS. This also is mentioned by Whiston, who says, "As I am never desirous of so much as the suppression of any real or original evidence in any case, especially not in that relating to Revealed Religion, I am sorry if any ecclesiastical or political reasons should prevail with Sir Isaac Newton's executors, against common justice and sincerity, to suppress such eminent works of his; especially when they may be of the vastest advantage to the Christian Church, and very useful for the reformation of the modern errors of Christendom. And I shall add, that if these difficulties arise from ecclesiastical persons, and are calculated for ecclesiastical purposes, they are instances of priestcraft; but if they arise from laymen, and are calculated for secular purposes, they are instances of what is not much better, I mean of what I call no other than laycraft."

10. The History of the Great Athanasius [?]. The title of one of the old Unitarian Tracts is, "The Acts of Great Athanasius;" and the opinions advanced in it concerning that Father were so very much like those of Sir Isaac Newton, that some have suspected him to have been the author. "But there being one more ludicrous paragraph," says Whiston, "than Sir Isaac Newton could well write, he being ever grave and serious, and never dealing in ludicrous matters at all; and there appearing no positive evidence that he did write it, I cannot directly ascribe it to him, though I am well satisfied it was written by some masterly hand, and one very well versed in the history of the fourth century; which characters do not meet more naturally in any one at that time than in Sir Isaac Newton."

11. Paradoxical Questions concerning Athanasius. MS. These Questions are said to fill more than seventy Folio sheets.

(Vidend. The Life of Sir Isaac Newton, with an Account of his Writings. London, 1728,8vo. The Life of Sir Isaac Newton, by David Brewster, LL.D. F.R.S. London, 1831, 12mo. The Penny Cyclopaedia, Art. Newton. Lord King's Life of John Locke, Vol. I. pp. 388—434.Whistoris Memoirs of his own Life and Writings. London, 1749, 8vo. pp. 36. 206. 292—294. 477. Whiston's Historical Memoirs of the Life of Dr. S. Clarke. London, 1730, pp. 8, 9. Whiston's Collection of Authentic Records, Vol. II. Lindsey's Historical View of the State of the Unitarian Doctrine and Worship, from the Reformation to our own Times, Chap. vi. Sect. v. Lindsey's Sequel to his Apology, pp. 18, 19. A Cordial for Low Spirits: in three Volumes. London, 1763, Pref. p. xviii. The Scripture Account of the Attributes and Worship of God; and of the Character and Offices of Jesus Christ: by Hopton Haynes, Esq., Assay-Master of the Mint . 4th Ed. Hackney, 1815. Novum Testamentum Grsecum, Opera et Studio Joannis Jacobi WeUtenii, Amst. 1751-2, Tom. I. Proleg. p. 185. Dr. T. Thomson't Hist, of the Royal Society, pp. 283, 284. Annals of Philosophy, . Vol. II. p. 322. A Letter to the Rev. Dr. Chalmers, &c.; to which is "T subjoined, A Statement of the Evidence for Sir Isaac Newton's Unitarianism: by Benj. Mardon. Glasgow, 1818. Unitarian Baptist Advocate, Vol. II. (1838) pp. 1—7. 32—36. 57—59. 74—79. 102—106. 145 —147.170—176. Monthly Repository, Vol. XL (1816) p. 143; Vol . V., N. S. (1831) pp. 153—159. 714. Gentleman's Magazine, Vol. LXXXV. Part U. pp. 314. 419, 420. Christian Reformer, N. S., Vol. I. (1834) p. 822; Vol. III. (1836) p. 145; Vol. IV. (1837) p. 578; Vol . VI. (1839) p. 268, etc.)

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