NEWTON’S RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND THEOLOGICAL RESEARCHES

A trove of nine manuscripts and manuscript fragments of various lengths, providing an important insight into the range and breadth of Newton’s theological researches, to which—remarkably—he devoted almost half again as much writing as he did to scientific and mathematical topics. Despite his position at Trinity College, Newton was Unitarian, and many of the present essays and notes discuss the relationship between Christ and God. The nine texts are housed loosely together in a contemporary wrapper (watermarked fleur de lys | hg) with various titles, dockets, and endorsements: “Of the Temple of Jerusalem & the Synagogues of the Jews and Churches of the Christians”; “Papers of Newton Relating to his religious opinions”; and “These are all loose independent pieces of [“little” is struck out and replaced by] no use unless any may possibly afford any hint in writing Sr Isaac’s Life.” The last note is rather too harsh: these manuscripts do indeed contain many useful “hints” about the life of Sir Isaac Newton, the man and the scientist.

The Newton Papers (Sotheby’s London, 14 July 1936, lot 255)

i. “Chap. Of the religion of the Jews & Christians.”

Autograph manuscript by Newton, 1 ½ pages (12 x 7 ¼ in.; 304 x 185 mm) on a bifolium (watermarked elliston basket), in English, with numerous emendations and deletions.

“All religion,” Newton begins, “may be distinguished into three sorts, natural, civil, divine, natural which is dictated by the light of nature that is by right reason, civil, wch is dictated only by the will of man, divine, wch is dictated by the will of God.”  There follow four paragraphs discussing the nature or religion and the world. “The wisdom {& power} which appears in the frame of the world & its {various} parts is sufficient to convince men that they were framed by a wise and powerful being … And since he is the first cause & by consequence {of necessity} everlasting & every where {immoveably} we are to conceive him {always invisibly} present to us."

A second section follows, headed “Chap. Of the Christian religion & its corruption in mortality,” which is only one paragraph. The third page has some historical notes on the persecution of the Jews (and Christians), and Constantine’s victory of AD 318.  Then Newton reverts to the foundation of religion: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart … Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy self. Upon these two hang all the Law & ye prophets.”

ii. Epistle Constantine Fragment

Autograph manuscript by Newton, 2 pages on a bifolium (watermarked arms | chd), in English with quotations in Greek and Latin, marginal notes, numerous deletions and emendations, including on  an otherwise blank verso of first leaf.

The text begins “Epistle Constantine [second word deleted] written against Eusebius & Theognis, Constantine saith that Christ the son of God the framer of all things, & giver of immortality was begotten … (or rather he came out, since he was always in the father) to set in order those things wch were made by him.”  Most of the text concerns Arius and the Council of Niceaea (AD 325), with a long discussion of the letter that Arius wrote to Pope Alexander about his Christology.  Newton also provides Alexander’s view that the son was “agenetos,” or unbegotten, meaning that the necessary eternal existence of the “logos endiathetos” was no generation.  Newton goes on to discuss with much crossing out and changes the christological doctrines of the Nicene creed, as well as those of the Council of  Sirmium.

One of the marginal references is to Athanasius tom 1  p. 99,  1699.  This refers to the Paris edition of Athanasius of 1698 published in 3 volumes, and edited by the great Maurist scholar Bernard de Montfaucon. Newton owned a copy of this edition (Harrison 96), the whereabouts of which are today unknown.

iii. Fragment on Christology

Autograph manuscript by Newton, 2 pages (1 and 3) and 4 lines (p. 2) on a bifolium (watermarked arms | chd) in English, with quotations in Latin and a few words in Greek, with numerous deletions and emendations, including one lengthy marginal note.

This fragment is also concerned with Christology, and quotes Athenagoras Apologia pro christianis, and Tertullian against Praxeas.  Newton owned editions of both of these authors: the 1557 Geneva Estienne edition of Athenagoras (Harrison 98) and the 1634 Paris Opera of Tertullian (Harrison 1605; now at Trinity, NQ. 16. 41).  Newton refers to Pope Victor as “the first bishop of Rome who turned Montanist,” and proceeds to a further account of the aberrations of Rome. He further quotes Athanasius (Vita Antonii) and Alexander Bishop of Alexandria.

There is an interesting paragraph on the spread of “the metaphysical Theology of Orpheus, Plato & other heathen Philosophers,” which “infected not only those who separated from her [the Church] & became hereticks of note, but also many others who did not separate, & particularly that it insinuated itself into the Churches of Antioch & Rome and the scool at Alexandria.”

iv. Fragment on worship of God and the Lamb

Autograph manuscript by Newton, 2 pages (1 and 3) on a bifolium (watermarked dagger in wreath | ar), in English, with much underlining and numerous deletions and emendations.

This fragment consists of consecutive paragraphs numbered 5-9, and ends with the number 10 (as catchword?) on the last page. It begins “Christ received this prophesy from God” and discusses the idea of our salvation being gained through Christ’s “merit.”  The text also touches on the theological idea of “satisfaction,” before progressing to a discussion of the  worship of Christians as it is exemplified in the worship described in the Apolcalypse where Christ is worshipped as a “Lamb who was slain for us, & who received this prophesy from God & by his death became worthy to receive it. He is here worshipped not as a God but as a King, the man Christ Jesus our Lord, not as God Almighty but as King of Kings {& Lord of Lords} who has redeemed his elect w[i]th his blood & made them Kings & priests under him.”

The final, ninth, paragraph begins “The worship given to God & Christ in this prophesy is their peculiar proper incommunicable worship.”  Newton then draws a keen distinction between the manners of worship due to the “Lamb … slain for us” and to “God Almighty ye creator of heaven & earth.”

In respect of contents, this manuscript is very similar to Yehuda MS 1 in Jerusalem.

v. Fragment on the names of Christ and the worship due to him

Autograph manuscript by Newton, 1 ½ pages on a bifolium (watermarked English royal arms | gr), in English, with numerous deletions and emendations; a little browned, first leaf with a short tear at top margin.

A manuscript similar to the preceding fragment discussing  Christ and the prophecies concerning him, including those of Daniel.  The text begins “The Faith wch Christ taught his disciples after his resurrection, & which he sent them to preach all nations in discipling them, he taught out of Moses & the Prophets & Psalms, opening their undestandings that they might understand what was writ concerning him.”  This fragment is akin to Keynes MS 3  and the Irenicum.

vi. Fragment on the nature of Christ

Autograph manuscript by Newton, 4 pages on a bifolium (watermarked arms), in English, with a few words in Greek, the right margins of the two rectos ruled for marginal notes, much underlining, numerous deletions and emendations.

This manuscript discusses the Christology of the early Christians, especially Epiphanius,  whose works Newton owned in the 1682 Cologne edition edited by Petau and Henrivus Valesius (Harrison 565).  Newton begins “The Christians of ye uncircumcision during the three first centuries & part of the fourth generally held that Christ was in the beginning before all things & ye God created all things by him & said unto him Let us make man & that he had dominion over all things. …”  He also discusses the belief that Christ was the “Adam Cadmon or first Man of the Cabbalists, that is, their first Sephiroth or Aeon.”  Newton discusses the beliefs of various earlier Christians and on the last page turns to the opening of St. John’s Gospel, writing “By these words John confirms the opinion of the Nazarenes & those Ebionites who said that Christ was in the Beginning of the creation of the worlds, & was then with God the father & that God created all things by him.  And the word was God …” He describes Christ as “a person with a proper life understanding & will, & not any person but a divine person, a person with domion, a person who had dominion over the Archangels & Angels & all things created.  For this is the signification of Theos.  Ho Theos is an individual … Theos is a species … & may signify any divine Being wth dominion. For Elohim, Theos, Deus, God are words of dominion & have the same signification with the word Lord but in a higher degree.

This text resembles in various ways what was printed at the general Scholium.

vii. Fragment on the Governance of the early church

Autograph manuscript by Newton, half a page on a bifolium (watermarked arms | gr), in English, with numerous deletions and emendations; a bit soiled.

This brief fragment deals with governance of early Christianity, describing bishoprics and presbyters.  The text abruptly concludes with the clause “Evsebius in his Ecclesiastical history …”

viii. Fragment on the Worship due to God from Man

Autograph manuscript by Newton, half a page on a bifolium (watermarked dagger in wreath | ar), in English, with several deletions and emendations.

This fragment is headed by the numeral 15 and begins, “The worship wch is due from us to God Almighty as our God is incommunicable.”  Based on subject, format, and paper stock, this is clearly part of the same text fragment described as item iv in the present lot.

ix. Fragment of Patristic Citations

Autograph manuscript by Newton, 14 lines on a bifolium (watermarked arms | iv), in English, with two emendations; long repaired tear through text.

A fragment with citations from Austine (Augustine),  & Jerome (Epist. Ad Augustinum in vol. 2 fol. 121G, referring to the Maurist edition).

These fragments are akin to the Newton manuscript at the Bodmeriana and Yehuda 15 at Jerusalem.