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Liiscbok N:o 54—55.
41
cured a prism, to try some experiment upon Des Cartes’
doctrine of colours, and soon satisfied himself that the
hypothesis of that philosopher was destitute of foundation;
and the further prosecution of the subject satisfied him
respecting the real nature of light and colours; and he soon after
drew up an account of his doctrine, which was published.
In 1664 he took his Bachelor’s degree, and in 1668
his Master’s degree, and in the following year Dr. Barrow
resigned his mathematical professorship to him. He was
afterwards made warden of the mint; and, in 1669, he was made
master and worker of the mint, in which situation he
continued until his death, having acquired the universal character
of integrity and disinterestedness.
While at the university, he spent the greatest part of
his time in his closet, and when he was tired with the
severer studies of philosophy, his relief and amusement was going
to some other study, as history, chronology, divinity,
chemistry. After coming to London, all the time he could spare
from his business, and from the civilities of life, in which he
was scrupulously exact and complaisant, was employed in the
same way. Of his philosophy, the great principle is the
power of gravity: this had. been taught by Kepler, but
Newton had the merit of reducing Kepler’s ideas to mathematical
demonstration. His glory rests chiefly on his mathematical
applications of a law, known before his time, which he
called the law of gravity, viz. that all bodies attract each other
directly as their quantities of matter, and inversely as the
square of their distances; and this law he ascribed to an
innate property of all bodies.
This illustrious man died on the 20th of March, 1727,
at the age of 84, retaining all his faculties and senses to the
end of his life. His remains were interred in Westminster
Abbey, with great magnificence, at the public expense; and
a monument was erected in the Abbey to his memory.
55. The Orphans.
My chaise the village inn did gain,
Just as the setting sun’s last ray
Tipped with refulgent gold the vane
Of the old church across the way.
Across the way I silent sped.
The time till supper to beguile
In moralizing o’er the dead,
That mouldered round the ancient pile.
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