theological studies of sir isaac—their importance to christianity—motives to which they have been ascribed—opinions of biot and laplace considered—his theological researches begun before his supposed mental illness—the date of these works fixed—letters to locke—account of his observations on prophecy—his historical account of two notable corruptions of scripture—his lexicon propheticum—his four letters to dr. bentley—origin of newton’s theological studies—analogy between the book of nature and that of revelation.
the history of the theological studies of sir isaac newton will ever be regarded as one of the most interesting portions of his life. that he who among all the individuals of his species possessed the highest intellectual powers was not only a learned and profound divine, but a firm believer in the great doctrines of religion, is one of the proudest triumphs of the christian faith. had he distinguished himself only by an external respect for the offices and duties of religion; and had he left merely in his last words an acknowledgment of his faith, his piety would have been regarded as a prudent submission to popular feeling, and his last aspirations would have been ascribed to the decay or to the extinction of his transcendent powers. but he had been a christian from his youth, and though never intended for the church, yet he interchanged the study of the scriptures with that of the laws of the material universe; and from the examination of the works of the supreme creator he found it to be no abrupt243 transition to investigate the revelation of his will, and to contemplate the immortal destinies of mankind.
but when the religious habits of sir isaac newton could not be ascribed to an ambition of popularity, to the influence of weak health, or to the force of professional impulse, it became necessary for the apostles of infidelity to refer it to some extraordinary cause. his supposed insanity was therefore eagerly seized upon by some as affording a plausible origin for his religious principles; while others, without any view of supporting the cause of skepticism, ascribed his theological researches to the habits of the age in which he lived, and to a desire of promoting political liberty, by turning against the abetters of despotism those powerful weapons which the scriptures supplied. the anxiety evinced by m. de laplace to refer his religious writings to a late period of his life seems to have been felt also by m. biot, who has gone so far as to fix the very date of one of his most important works, and thus to establish the suspicions of his colleague.
“from the nature of the subject,”103 says he, “and from certain indications which newton seems to give at the beginning of his dissertation, we may conjecture with probability that he composed it at the time when the errors of whiston, and a work of dr. clarke on the same subject, drew upon them the attacks of all the theologians of england, which would place the date between the years 1712 and 1719. it would then be truly a prodigy to remark, that a man of from seventy-two to seventy-five years of age was able to compose, rapidly, as he leads us to believe, so extensive a piece of sacred criticism, of literary history, and even of bibliography, where an erudition the most vast, the most244 varied, and the most ready always supports an argument well arranged and powerfully combined. * * * at this epoch of the life of newton the reading of religious books had become one of his most habitual occupations, and after he had performed the duties of his office, they formed, along with the conversation of his friends, his principal amusement. he had then almost ceased to care for the sciences, and, as we have already remarked, since the fatal epoch of 1693, he gave to the world only three really new scientific productions.”
notwithstanding the prodigy which it involves, m. biot has adopted 1712–1719 as the date of this critical dissertation;—it is regarded as the composition of a man of seventy-two or seventy-five;—the reading of religious works is stated to have become one of his most habitual occupations, and such reading is said to have been one of his principal amusements; and all this is associated with “the fatal epoch of 1693,” as if his illness at that time had been the cause of his abandoning science and betaking himself to theology. carrying on the same views, m. biot asks, in reference to sir isaac’s work on prophecy, “how a mind of the character and force of newton’s, so habituated to the severity of mathematical considerations, so exercised in the observation of real phenomena, and so well aware of the conditions by which truth is to be discovered, could put together such a number of conjectures without noticing the extreme improbability of his interpretations from the infinite number of arbitrary postulates on which he has founded them?” we would apply the same question to the reasoning by which m. biot fixes the date of the critical dissertation; and we would ask how so eminent a philosopher could hazard such frivolous conjectures upon a subject on which he had not a single fact to guide his inquiries. the obvious tendency, though not the design, of the conclusion at which he arrives is injurious to the245 memory of newton, as well as to the interests of religion; and these considerations might have checked the temerity of speculation, even if it had been founded on better data. the newtonian interpretation of the prophecies, and especially that part which m. biot characterizes as unhappily stamped with the spirit of prejudice, has been adopted by men of the soundest and most unprejudiced minds; and in addition to the moral and historical evidence by which it is supported, it may yet be exhibited in all the fulness of demonstration. but the speculation of biot respecting the date of newton’s theological works was never maintained by any other person than himself, and is capable of being disproved by the most incontrovertible evidence.
we have already seen, in the extract from mr. pryme’s manuscript, that previous to 1692, when a shade is supposed to have passed over his gifted mind, newton was well known by the appellation of an “excellent divine,”—a character which could not have been acquired without the devotion of many years to theological researches; but, important as this argument would have been, we are fortunately not left to so general a defence. the correspondence of newton with locke, recently published by lord king, places it beyond a doubt that he had begun his researches respecting the prophecies before the year 1691,—before the forty-ninth year of his age, and before the “fatal epoch of 1693.” the following letter shows that he had previously discussed this subject with his friend:—
cambridge, feb. 7, 1690–1.
“sir,
“i am sorry your journey proved to so little purpose, though it delivered you from the trouble of the company the day after. you have obliged me by mentioning me to my friends at london, and i must thank both you and my lady masham for your civilities at oates, and for not thinking that i made246 a long stay there. i hope we shall meet again in due time, and then i should be glad to have your judgment upon some of my mystical fancies. the son of man, dan. vii. i take to be the same with the word of god upon the white horse in heaven, apoc. xii., for both are to rule the nations with a rod of iron; but whence are you certain that the ancient of days is christ? does christ anywhere sit upon the throne? if sir francis masham be at oates, present, i pray, my service to him, with his lady, mrs. cudworth, and mrs. masham. dr. covel is not in cambridge.—i am your affectionate and humble servant,
“is. newton.
“know you the meaning of dan. x. 21. there is none that holdeth with me in these things but mich. the prince.”
having thus determined the date of those investigations which constitute his observations on the prophecies of holy writ, particularly the prophecies of daniel and the apocalypse, we shall proceed to fix the latest date of his historical account of two notable corruptions of the scripture, in a letter to a friend.
this work seems to have been a very early production of our author. it was written in the form of a letter to mr. locke, and at that time sir isaac seems to have been anxious for its publication. afraid, however, of being again led into a controversy, and dreading the intolerance to which he might be exposed, he requested mr. locke, who was at that time meditating a voyage to holland, to get it translated into french, and published on the continent. having abandoned his design of visiting holland, locke transmitted the manuscript, without newton’s name, to his learned friend m. le clerc, in holland; and it appears, from a letter of le clerc’s to locke, that he must have received it before the 11th april, 1691. m. le clerc delayed247 for a long time to take any steps regarding its publication; but in a letter dated january 20th, 1692, he announced to locke his intention of publishing the tract in latin. when this plan was communicated to sir isaac, he became alarmed at the risk of detection, and resolved to stop the publication of his manuscript. this resolution was intimated to mr. locke in the following letter:
cambridge, feb. 16th, 1691–2.
“sir,
“your former letters came not to my hand, but this i have. i was of opinion my papers had lain still, and am sorry to hear there is news about them. let me entreat you to stop their translation and impression so soon as you can; for i design to suppress them. if your friend hath been at any pains and charge, i will repay it, and gratify him. i am very glad my lord monmouth is till my friend, but intend not to give his lordship and you any farther trouble. my inclinations are to sit still. i am to beg his lordship’s pardon for pressing into his company the last time i saw him. i had not done it, but that mr. paulin pressed me into the room. miracles, of good credit, continued in the church for about two or three hundred years. gregorius thaumaturgus had his name from thence, and was one of the latest who was eminent for that gift; but of their number and frequency i am not able to give you a just account. the history of those ages is very imperfect. mr. paulin told me you had writ for some of mr. boyle’s red earth, and by that i knew you had the receipt.—your most affectionate and humble servant,
“is. newton.”
hence we see that this celebrated treatise, which biot alleges to have been written between 1712 and 1719, was actually in the hands of le clerc in holland previous to the 11th april, 1691, and consequently previous to the time of the supposed insanity248 of its author. mr. locke lost no time in obeying the request of his friend. le clerc instantly stopped the publication of the letter, and, as he had never learned the name of the author, he deposited the manuscript, which was in the handwriting of mr. locke, in the library of the remonstrants, where it was afterward found, and was published at london in 1754, under the title of two letters from sir isaac newton to m. le clerc,—a form which had never been given to it by its author. the copy thus published was a very imperfect one, wanting both the beginning104 and the end, and erroneous in many places; but dr. horsley has published a genuine edition, which has the form of a single letter to a friend, and was copied from a manuscript in sir isaac newton’s handwriting, in the possession of the rev. dr. ekins, dean of carlisle.
having thus determined as accurately as possible the dates of the principal theological writings of sir isaac, we shall now proceed to give some account of their contents.
the observations on the prophecies of daniel and the apocalypse of st. john were published in london in 1733, in one volume 4to. the work is divided into two parts, the first of which treats of the prophecies of daniel, and the second of the apocalypse of st. john. it begins with an account of the different books which compose the old testament; and as the author considers daniel to be the most distinct in the order of time, and the easiest to be understood, he makes him the key to all the prophetic books in those matters which relate to the “last time.” he next considers the figurative language of the prophets, which he regards as taken “from the analogy between the world natural and an empire or kingdom considered as a world politic;” the heavens and the things therein representing thrones and dynasties; the earth, with the things therein, the249 inferior people; and the lowest parts of the earth the most miserable of the people. the sun is put for the whole race of kings, the moon for the body of the common people, and the stars for subordinate princes and rulers. in the earth, the dry land and the waters are put for the people of several nations. animals and vegetables are also put for the people of several regions. when a beast or man is put for a kingdom, his parts and qualities are put for the analogous parts and qualities of the kingdom; and when a man is taken in a mystical sense, his qualities are often signified by his actions, and by the circumstances and things about him. in applying these principles he begins with the vision of the image composed of four different metals. this image he considers as representing a body of four great nations which should reign in succession over the earth, viz. the people of babylonia, the persians, the greeks, and the romans; while the stone cut out without hands is a new kingdom which should arise after the four, conquer all those nations, become very great, and endure to the end of time.
the vision of the four beasts is the prophecy of the four empires repeated, with several new additions. the lion with eagles’ wings was the kingdom of babylon and media, which overthrew the assyrian power. the beast like a bear was the persian empire, and its three ribs were the kingdoms of sardis, babylon, and egypt. the third beast, like a leopard, was the greek empire, and its four heads and four wings were the kingdoms of cassander, lysimachus, ptolemy, and seleucus. the fourth beast, with its great iron teeth, was the roman empire, and its ten horns were the ten kingdoms into which it was broken in the reign of theodosius the great.
in the fifth chapter sir isaac treats of the kingdoms represented by the feet of the image composed of iron and clay which did not stick to one another, and which were of different strength. these were250 the gothic tribes called ostrogoths, visigoths, vandals, gepid?, lombards, burgundians, alans, &c.; all of whom had the same manners and customs, and spoke the same language, and who, about the year 416 a. c. were all quietly settled in several kingdoms within the empire, not only by conquest, but by grants of emperor.
in the sixth chapter he treats of the ten kingdoms represented by the ten horns of the fourth beast, into which the western empire became divided about the time when rome was besieged and taken by the goths. these kingdoms were,
?1. the kingdom of the vandals and alans in spain and africa.
?2. the kingdom of suevians in spain.
?3. the kingdom of the visigoths.
?4. the kingdom of the alans in gaul.
?5. the kingdom of the burgundians.
?6. the kingdom of the franks.
?7. the kingdom of the britains.
?8. the kingdom of the huns.
?9. the kingdom of the lombards.
10. the kingdom of ravenna.
some of these kingdoms at length fell, and new ones sprung up; but whatever was their subsequent number, they still retain the name of the ten kings from their first number.
the eleventh horn of daniel’s fourth beast is shown in chapter vii. to be the church of rome in its triple character of a seer, a prophet, and a king; and its power to change times and laws is copiously illustrated in chapter viii.
in the ninth chapter our author treats of the kingdom represented in daniel by the ram and he-goat, the ram indicating the kingdom of the medes and persians from the beginning of the four empires, and the he-goat the kingdom of the greeks to the end of them.
the prophecy of the seventy weeks, which had251 hitherto been restricted to the first coming of our saviour, is shown to be a prediction of all the main periods relating to the coming of the messiah, the times of his birth and death, the time of his rejection by the jews, the duration of the jewish war by which he caused the city and sanctuary to be destroyed, and the time of his second coming.
in the eleventh chapter sir isaac treats with great sagacity and acuteness of the time of our saviour’s birth and passion,—a subject which had perplexed all preceding commentators.
after explaining in the twelfth chapter the last prophecy of daniel, namely, that of the scripture of truth, which he considers as a commentary on the vision of the ram and he-goat, he proceeds in the thirteenth chapter to the prophecy of the king who did according to his will, and magnified himself above every god, and honoured mahuzzims, and regarded not the desire of women. he shows that the greek empire, after the division of the roman empire into the greek and latin empires, became the king who in matters of religion did according to his will, and in legislation exalted and magnified himself above every god.
in the second part of his work on the apocalypse of st. john, sir isaac treats, 1st, of the time when the prophecy was written, which he conceives to have been during john’s exile in patmos, and before the epistle to the hebrews and the epistles of peter were written, which in his opinion have a reference to the apocalypse; 2dly, of the scene of the vision, and the relation which the apocalypse has to the book of the law of moses, and to the worship of god in the temple; and, 3dly, of the relation which the apocalypse has to the prophecies of daniel, and of the subject of the prophecy itself.
sir isaac regards the prophecies of the old and new testaments, not as given to gratify men’s curiosities, by enabling them to foreknow things, but that252 after they were fulfilled, they might be interpreted by the event, and afford convincing arguments that the world is governed by providence, he considers that there is so much of this prophecy already fulfilled as to afford to the diligent student sufficient instances of god’s providence; and he adds, that “among the interpreters of the last age, there is scarce one of note who hath not made some discovery worth knowing, and thence it seems one may gather that god is about opening these mysteries. the success of others,” he continues, “put me upon considering it, and if i have done any thing which may be useful to following writers, i have my design.”
such is a brief abstract of this ingenious work, which is characterized by great learning, and marked with the sagacity of its distinguished author. the same qualities of his mind are equally conspicuous in his historical account of two notable corruptions of scripture.
this celebrated treatise relates to two texts in the epistles of st. john and st. paul. the first of these is in 1 john v. 7. “for there are three that bear record in heaven, the father, the son, and the holy ghost, and these three are one.” this text he considers as a gross corruption of scripture, which had its origin among the latins, who interpreted the spirit, water, and blood to be the father, son, and holy ghost, in order to prove them one. with the same view jerome inserted the trinity in express words in his version. the latins marked his variations in the margins of their books; and in the twelfth and following centuries, when the disputations of the schoolmen were at their height, the variation began to creep into the text in transcribing. after the invention of printing, it crept out of the latin into the printed greek, contrary to the authority of all the greek manuscripts and ancient versions; and from the venetian press it went soon after into greece. after proving these positions253 sir isaac gives the following paraphrase of this remarkable passage, which is given in italics.
“who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that jesus is the son of god, that son spoken of in the psalms, where he saith, ‘thou art my son; this day have i begotten thee.’ this is he that, after the jews had long expected him, came, first in a mortal body, by baptism of water, and then in an immortal one, by shedding his blood upon the cross and rising again from the dead; not by water only, but by water and blood; being the son of god, as well by his resurrection from the dead (acts xiii. 33), as by his supernatural birth of the virgin (luke i. 35). and it is the spirit also that, together with the water and blood, beareth witness of the truth of his coming; because the spirit is truth; and so a fit and unexceptionable witness. for there are three that bear record of his coming; the spirit, which he promised to send, and which was since shed forth upon us in the form of cloven tongues, and in various gifts; the baptism of water, wherein god testified ‘this is my beloved son;’ and the shedding of his blood, accompanied with his resurrection, whereby he became the most faithful martyr, or witness, of this truth. and these three, the spirit, the baptism, and passion of christ, agree in witnessing one and the same thing (namely, that the son of god is come); and, therefore, their evidence is strong: for the law requires but two consenting witnesses, and here we have three: and if we receive the witness of men, the threefold witness of god, which he bare of his son, by declaring at his baptism ‘this is my beloved son,’ by raising him from the dead, and by pouring out his spirit on us, is greater; and, therefore, ought to be more readily received.”
while the latin church was corrupting the preceding text, the greek church was doing the same to st. paul’s 1st epistle to timothy iii. 16. great is the mystery of godliness, god manifest in the flesh.254 according to sir isaac, this reading was effected by changing σ into θσ, the abbreviation of θεο?, and after proving this by a learned and ingenious examination of ancient manuscripts, he concludes that the reading should be great is the mystery of godliness who (viz. our saviour) was manifest in the flesh.
as this learned dissertation had the effect of depriving the defenders of the doctrine of the trinity of the aid of two leading texts, sir isaac newton has been regarded as an antitrinitarian; but such a conclusion is not warranted by any thing which he has published;105 and he distinctly warns us, that his object was solely to “purge the truth of things spurious.” we are disposed, on the contrary, to think that he declares his belief in the doctrine of the trinity when he says, “in the eastern nations, and for a long time in the western, the faith subsisted without this text; and it is rather a danger to religion than an advantage, to make it now lean upon a bruised reed. there cannot be better service done to the truth than to purge it of things spurious; and therefore, knowing your prudence and calmness of temper, i am confident i shall not offend you by telling you my mind plainly; especially since it is no article of faith, no point of discipline, nothing but a criticism concerning a text of scripture which i am going to write about.” the word faith in the preceding passage cannot mean faith in the scriptures in general, but faith in the particular doctrine of the trinity; for it is this article of faith only to which the author refers when he deprecates its leaning on a bruised reed. but, whatever be the meaning of this passage, we know that sir isaac was greatly255 offended at mr. whiston for having represented him as an arian; and so much did he resent the conduct of his friend in ascribing to him heretical opinions, that he would not permit him to be elected a fellow of the royal society while he was president.106
the only other religious works which were composed by sir isaac newton were his lexicon propheticum, to which was added a dissertation on the sacred cubit of the jews, and four letters addressed to dr. bentley, containing some arguments in proof of a deity.
the lexicon propheticum was left incomplete, and has not been published; but the latin dissertation which was appended to it, in which he shows that the cubit was about 26? roman unci?, was published in 1737 among the miscellaneous works of mr. john greaves.
upon the death of the honourable robert boyle, on the 30th of december, 1691, it was found, by a codicil to his will, that he had left a revenue of 50l. per annum to establish a lectureship, in which eight discourses were to be preached annually in one of the churches of the metropolis, in illustration of the evidences of christianity, and in opposition to the principles of infidelity. dr. bentley, though a very young man, was appointed to preach the first course of sermons, and the manner in which he discharged this important duty gave the highest satisfaction, not only to the trustees of the lectureship, but to the public in general. in the first six lectures bentley exposed the folly of atheism even in reference to the present life, and derived powerful arguments for the existence of a deity from the faculties of the soul, and the structure and functions of the human frame. in order to complete his plan, he proposed to devote his seventh and eighth lectures to the demonstration of a divine providence from the physical constitution256 of the universe, as established in the principia. in order to qualify himself for this task, he received from sir isaac written directions respecting a list of books necessary to be perused previous to the study of that work;107 and having made himself master of the system which it contained, he applied it with irresistible force of argument to establish the existence of an overruling mind. previous to the publication of these lectures, bentley encountered a difficulty which he was not able to solve, and he prudently transmitted to sir isaac during 1692 a series of queries on the subject. this difficulty occurred in an argument urged by lucretius, to prove the eternity of the world from an 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 which have been noticed in a preceding chapter.
in the first108 of these letters sir isaac mentions that when he wrote his treatise about our system, viz. the third book of the principia, “he had an eye upon such principles as might work, with considering men, for the belief of a deity, and he expresses his happiness that it has been found useful for that purpose. in answering the first query of dr. bentley, the exact import of which we do not know, he states, that, if matter were evenly diffused through a finite space, and endowed with innate gravity, it would fall down into the middle of the space, and form one great spherical mass; but if it were diffused through an infinite space, some of it would collect into one mass, and some into another,257 so as to form an infinite number of great masses. in this manner the sun and stars might be formed if the matter were of a lucid nature. but he thinks it inexplicable by natural causes, and to be ascribed to the counsel and contrivance of a voluntary agent, that the matter should divide itself into two sorts, part of it composing a shining body like the sun, and part an opaque body like the planets. had a natural and blind cause, without contrivance and design, placed the earth in the centre of the moon’s orbit, and jupiter in the centre of his system of satellites, and the sun in the centre of the planetary system, the sun would have been a body like jupiter and the earth, that is, without light and heat, and consequently he knows no reason why there is only one body qualified to give light and heat to all the rest, but because the author of the system thought it convenient, and because one was sufficient to warm and enlighten all the rest.
to the second query of dr. bentley, he replies that the motions which the planets now have could not spring from any natural cause alone, but were impressed by an intelligent agent. “to make such a system with all its motions required a cause which understood and compared together the quantities of matter in the several bodies of the sun and planets, and the gravitating powers resulting from thence; the several distances of the primary planets from the sun, and of the secondary ones from saturn, jupiter, and the earth, and the velocities with which those planets could revolve about those quantities of matter in the central bodies; and to compare and adjust all these things together in so great a variety of bodies, argues that cause to be not blind and fortuitous, but very well skilled in mechanics and geometry.”
in the second109 letter, he admits that the spherical258 mass formed by the aggregation of particles would affect the figure of the space in which the matter was diffused, provided the matter descends directly downwards to that body, and the body has no diurnal rotation; but he states, that by earthquakes loosening the parts of this solid, the protuberance might sink a little by their weight, and the mass by degrees approach a spherical figure. he then proceeds to correct an error of dr. bentley’s in supposing that all infinites are equal. he admits that gravity might put the planets in motion, but he maintains that, without the divine power, it could never give them such a circulating motion as they have about the sun, because a proper quantity of a transverse motion is necessary for this purpose; and he concludes that he is compelled to ascribe the frame of this system to an intelligent agent.
the third letter contains opinions confirming or correcting several positions which dr. bentley had laid down, and he concludes it with a curious examination of the opinion of plato, that the motion of the planets is such as if they had been all created by god in some region very remote from our system, and let fall from thence towards the sun, their falling motion being turned aside into a transverse one whenever they arrived at their several orbits. sir isaac shows that there is no common place such as that conjectured by plato, provided the gravitating power of the sun remains constant; but that plato’s affirmation is true if we suppose the gravitating power of the sun to be doubled at that moment of time when they all arrive at their several orbits. “if we suppose,” says he, “the gravity of all the planets towards the sun to be of such a quantity as it really is, and that the motions of the planets are turned upwards, every planet will ascend to twice its height from the sun. saturn will ascend till he be twice as high from the sun as he is at present, and no higher; jupiter will ascend as259 high again as at present, that is, a little above the orb of saturn; mercury will ascend to twice his present height, that is, to the orb of venus; and so of the rest; and then, by falling down again from the places to which they ascended, they will arise again at their several orbs with the same velocities they had at first, and with which they now revolve.
“but if so soon as their motions by which they revolve are turned upwards, the gravitating power of the sun, by which their ascent is perpetually retarded, be diminished by one-half, they will now ascend perpetually, and all of them, at all equal distances from the sun, will be equally swift. mercury, when he arrives at the orb of venus, will be as swift as venus; and he and venus, when they arrive at the orb of the earth, will be as swift as the earth; and so of the rest. if they begin all of them to ascend at once, and ascend in the same line, they will constantly, in ascending, become nearer and nearer together, and their motions will constantly approach to an equality, and become at length slower than any motion assignable. suppose, therefore, that they ascended till they were almost contiguous, and their motions inconsiderably little, and that all their motions were at the same moment of time turned back again, or, which comes almost to the same thing, that they were only deprived of their motions, and let fall at that time, they would all at once arrive at their several orbs, each with the velocity it had at first; and if their motions were then turned sideways, and at the same time the gravitating power of the sun doubled, that it might be strong enough to retain them in their orbs, they would revolve in them as before their ascent. but if the gravitating power of the sun was not doubled, they would go away from their orbs into the highest heavens in parabolical lines.”110
260 in the fourth letter111 he states, that the hypothesis that matter is at first evenly diffused through the universe is in his opinion inconsistent with the hypothesis of innate gravity without a supernatural power to reconcile them, and therefore it infers a deity. “for if there be innate gravity, it is impossible now for the matter of the earth and all the planets and stars to fly up from them, and become evenly spread throughout all the heavens without a supernatural power; and certainly that which can never be hereafter without a supernatural power, could never be heretofore without the same power.”
these letters, of which we have endeavoured to give a brief summary, will well 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.112
the logical acuteness, the varied erudition, and the absolute freedom from all prejudice which shine throughout the theological writings of newton, might have protected them from the charge of having been written in his old age, and at a time when a failure of mind was supposed to have unfitted him for his mathematical investigations. but it is fortunate for his reputation, as well as for the interests of christianity, that we have been able to prove the incorrectness of such insinuations, and to exhibit the most irrefragable evidence that all the theological 261 writings of newton were composed in the vigour of his life, and before the crisis of that bodily disorder which is supposed to have affected his reason. the able letters to dr. bentley 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 functions of his understanding.
when a philosopher of distinguished eminence, and we believe not inimical to the christian faith, has found it necessary to make a laboured apology for a man like newton writing on theological subjects, and has been led to render that apology more complete by referring this class of his labours to a mind debilitated by age and weakened by its previous aberrations, it may be expected from an english biographer, and one who acknowledges the importance of revealed truth, and the paramount interest of such subjects above all secular studies, to suggest the true origin of newton’s theological inquiries.
when a mind of great and acknowledged power first directs its energies to the study of the material universe, no indications of order attract his notice, and no proofs of design call forth his admiration. in the starry firmament he sees no bodies of stupendous magnitude, and no distances of immeasurable span. the two great luminaries appear vastly inferior in magnitude to many objects around him, and the greatest distances in the heavens seem even inferior to those which his own eye can embrace on the surface of the earth. the planets, when observed with care, are seen to have a motion among the fixed stars, and to vary in their magnitude and distances, but these changes appear to follow no law. sometimes they move to the east, sometimes to the west, sometimes towards the north, and sometimes towards the south, and at other times262 they are absolutely stationary. no system, in short, appears, and no general law seems to direct their motions. by the observations and inquiries of astronomers, however, during successive ages, a regular system has been recognised in this chaos of moving bodies, and the magnitudes, distances, and revolutions of every planet which composes it has been determined with the most extraordinary accuracy. minds fitted and prepared for this species of inquiry are capable of understanding the great variety of evidence by which the truth of the planetary system is established; but thousands of individuals who are even distinguished in other branches of knowledge are incapable of such researches, and view with a skeptical eye the great and irrefragable truths of astronomy.
that the sun is stationary in the centre of our system,—that the earth moves round the sun, and round its own axis,—that the earth is 8000 miles in diameter, and the sun one hundred and ten times as large,—that the earth’s orbit is 190 millions of miles in breadth,—and that if this immense space were filled with light, it would appear only like a luminous point at the nearest fixed star,—are positions absolutely unintelligible and incredible to all who have not carefully studied the subject. to millions of our species, then, the great book of nature is absolutely sealed, though it is in the power of all to unfold its pages, and to peruse those glowing passages which proclaim the power and wisdom of its mighty author.
the book of revelation exhibits to us the same peculiarities as that of nature. to the ordinary eye it presents no immediate indications of its divine origin. events apparently insignificant—supernatural interferences seemingly unnecessary—doctrines almost contradictory—and prophecies nearly unintelligible occupy its pages. the history of the fall of man—of the introduction of moral263 and physical evil—the prediction of a messiah—the actual advent of our saviour—his instructions—his miracles—his death—his resurrection—and the subsequent propagation of his religion by the unlettered fishermen of galilee, are each a stumbling block to the wisdom of this world. the youthful and vigorous mind, when first summoned to peruse the scriptures, turns from them with disappointment. it recognises in them no profound science—no secular wisdom—no divine eloquence—no disclosures of nature’s secrets—no direct impress of an almighty hand. but, though the system of revealed truth which this book contains is, like that of the universe, concealed from common observation, yet the labours of centuries have established its divine origin, and developed in all its order and beauty the great plan of human restoration. in the chaos of its incidents we discover the whole history of our species, whether it is delineated in events that are past or shadowed forth in those which are to come,—from the creation of man and the origin of evil, to the extinction of his earthly dynasty and the commencement of his immortal career.
the antiquity and authenticity of the books which compose the sacred canon,—the fulfilment of its prophecies,—the miraculous works of its founder,—his death and resurrection, have been demonstrated to all who are capable of appreciating the force of historical evidence; and in the poetical and prose compositions of the inspired authors we discover a system of doctrine and a code of morality traced in characters as distinct and legible as the most unerring truths in the material world. false systems of religion have indeed been deduced from the sacred record,—as false systems of the universe have sprung from the study of the book of nature,—but the very prevalence of a false system proves the existence of one that is true; and though the two classes of facts necessarily depend on different264 kinds of evidence, yet we scruple not to say that the copernican system is not more demonstrably true than the system of theological truth contained in the bible. if men of high powers, then, are still found, who are insensible to the evidence which sustains the system of the universe, need we wonder that there are others whose minds are shut against the effulgent evidence which intrenches the strongholds of our faith.
if such, then, is the character of the christian faith, we need not be surprised that it was embraced and expounded by such a genius as sir isaac newton. cherishing its doctrines, and leaning on its promises, he felt it his duty, as it was his pleasure, to apply to it that intellectual strength which had successfully surmounted the difficulties of the material universe. the fame which that success procured him he could not but feel to be the breath of popular applause, which administered only to his personal feelings; but the investigation of the sacred mysteries, while it prepared his own mind for its final destiny, was calculated to promote the spiritual interests of thousands. this noble impulse he did not hesitate to obey, and by thus uniting philosophy with religion, he dissolved the league which genius had formed with skepticism, and added to the cloud of witnesses the brightest name of ancient or of modern times.