Rob Iliffe

Rebekah Higgitt

Milo Keynes

A collection of the many biographies of scientist Isaac Newton, demonstrating the ways in which his reputation continued to develop in the centuries after his death. It includes private letters, poetry and memoranda, and explores the debate over Newton's reputation, work and personal life.

Early Biographies of Isaac Newton, 1660-1885 vol 1

Newton's contributions to an understanding of the heavens and the earth are considered to be unparalleled. This very short introduction explains his scientific theories, and uses Newton's unpublished writings to paint a picture of an extremely complex man whose beliefs had a huge impact on Europe's political, intellectual, and religious landscape.

A Very Short Introduction

Newton

After Sir Isaac Newton revealed his discovery that white light was compounded of more basic colored rays, he was hailed as a genius and became an instant international celebrity. An interdisciplinary enthusiast and intellectual giant in a number of disciplines, Newton published revolutionary, field-defining works that reached across the scientific spectrum, including the Principia Mathematica and Opticks. His renown opened doors for him throughout his career, ushering him into prestigious positions at Cambridge, the Royal Mint, and the Royal Society. And yet, alongside his public success, Newton harbored religious beliefs that set him at odds with law and society, and, if revealed, threatened not just his livelihood but his life. Religion and faith dominated much of Newton's life and work. His papers, never made available to the public, were filled with biblical speculation and timelines along with passages that excoriated the early Church fathers. Indeed, his radical theological leanings rendered him a heretic, according to the doctrines of the Anglican Church. Newton believed that the central concept of the Trinity was a diabolical fraud and loathed the idolatry, cruelty, and persecution that had come to define religion in his time. Instead, he proposed a "simple Christianity"--a faith that would center on a few core beliefs and celebrate diversity in religious thinking and practice. An utterly original but obsessively private religious thinker, Newton composed several of the most daring works of any writer of the early modern period, works which he and his inheritors suppressed and which have been largely inaccessible for centuries. In Priest of Nature, historian Rob Iliffe introduces readers to Newton the religious animal, deepening our understanding of the relationship between faith and science at a formative moment in history and thought. Previous scholars and biographers have generally underestimated the range and complexity of Newton's religious writings, but Iliffe shows how wide-ranging his observations and interests were, spanning the entirety of Christian history from Creation to the Apocalypse. Iliffe's book allows readers to fully engage in the theological discussion that dominated Newton's age. A vibrant biography of one of history's towering scientific figures, Priest of Nature is the definitive work on the spiritual views of the man who fundamentally changed how we look at the universe.

The Religious Worlds of Isaac Newton

Priest of Nature

For centuries, the exact nature of Isaac Newton's religious beliefs has been a matter of intense debate, in part because so very few of his theological works were accessible to public scrutiny. During his lifetime Newton carefully monitored what he published, and with good reason. Hisreligious writings, which comprise a major part of the manuscripts-containing millions of words-that are now available for view reveal markedly unorthodox views, such as the denial of the Trinity, an admission that would have substantially damaged his public reputation and perhaps endangered hislife. In Priest of Nature, historian Rob Iliffe examines all the evidence and offers the definitive work on the religious views of the man who fundamentally changed how we look at the universe. Tracing Newton's life from his birth through his years at Cambridge, his tenure as Warden and Master of the Mint, and his twenty-four years as president of the Royal Society, continuing to his death in 1727, Iliffe examines how Newton managed the complex boundaries between private and publicprofessions of belief. While previous scholars and biographers have attempted to find coherence in his intellectual pursuits, Iliffe shows how wide-ranging and Catholic Newton's views and interests in fact were, taking issue with those who have attempted to underestimate their range and complexity.Arguing that there is no simplistic coherence between Newton's philosophical and religious views, Priest of Nature delves into the religious writings Newton produced during his life, from his account of the sexually depraved lives of the early monks to his views about the creation of the world andthe Apocalypse, showing that Newton's techniques for prosecuting those he saw as the corrupters of Christianity were identical to the ones he used against those who attacked his science. A portrait of the religious and spiritual life of Newton, Priest of Nature is at the same time a vibrant biography of one of history's towering scientific figures.

Rob Iliffe

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