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Isaac Newton, Architect

2011; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 26; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/0268117x.2011.10555662

2050-4616

Tessa Morrison,

Historical Astronomy and Related Studies

It is well known that Isaac Newton had an interest in the Temple of Solomon. Most biographies of Newton mention this interest, but little attention, if any, is given to his architectural work on the Temple. Although there is no surviving book of Vitruvius's De Architectura or even one of his commentators in Newton's library, he had a good knowledge of Vitruvius. He mentioned and/or referenced Vitruvius in some of his unpublished papers. For Newton the Temple was built to the 'proportions of the architecture' and these proportions paralleled Vitruvius's norms of architecture. From his early days in Cambridge up until his death Newton remained interested in the Temple, its meaning and its architecture.When the Temple is mentioned in Newton's biographies, in general it is illustrated with one of two floor plans by Newton. The most commonly illustrated is from Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms Amended posthumously published in 1728, and the other one commonly cited is from an unpublished manuscript known by its call name Babson Ms 0434, written circa mid-1680s. These two floor plans have become synonymous with Newton's Temple of Solomon. There appears to be an initial similarity, but the floor plan of the Chronology has a great deal more detail than the floor plan in Babson Ms 0434. However, this detail is not backed up by the text in Chronology or in any other of Newton's manuscripts. There is good reason to suggest that the floor plan in the Chronology is not Newton's work. Furthermore the floor plan in Babson Ms 0434 is the beginning of the manuscript and is surpassed by another plan which is not illustrated, but is only expressed verbally. This paper examines Newton's interest in architecture and discusses the relationship between these three floor plans of the Temple.The unpublished papers of Isaac Newton and the publication of The Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms AmendedNewton died on 20 March 1727 leaving hundreds of unpublished manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts dated back to his arrival at Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1661. Throughout Newton's life he was a prolific writer. His surviving manuscripts included drafts of the Principia, mathematical and scientific papers, and his correspondence. They also included Newton's works on prophecy, chronology, alchemy, and theology. Many of these manuscripts were not made public in his lifetime and for good reason. His unorthodox religious views would have been considered heretical in his lifetime. He rejected the Trinity. Scholars who are unravelling Newton's religious beliefs have applied labels such as 'Arian' or 'Unitarian', but these do not appear to cover the complexity of his religious beliefs.1 William Whiston, former pupil and successor to Newton as Lucasian Professor at Cambridge, shared similar religious beliefs to Newton. Whiston made his beliefs public, which ended his career at Cambridge. He was later charged with heresy and although not convicted he never held an academic position again.2 Sir Isaac Newton, Lucasian Professor and Master of the Mint, had a lot to lose if his religious beliefs were made public.Newton's heirs invited Thomas Pellett to examine the manuscripts and report on their suitability for publication. After only three days of examining these hundreds of manuscripts, Pellett, a qualified physician and member of the Royal Society, dismissed the majority of manuscripts as being 'not fit to be printed',3 'of no scientific value' and 'loose and foul papers'.4Pellett found only two sets of manuscripts that he deemed suitable for publication. The first were two manuscripts on prophecies, and although Pellet claimed that the text on prophecy was imperfect, they were nevertheless worthy of publication.5 This was eventually prepared for press by Newton's nephew Benjamin Smith and published in 1733 as The Observations upon the Prophecies of Daniel and the Apocalypse of St John. Observations proved to be one of Newton's best sellers in the eighteenth century and it was also translated into Latin and German shortly after its first edition. …