Newton was not the first of the age of reason. He was the last of the magicians, the last of the Babylonians and Sumerians, the last great mind that looked out on the visible and intellectual world with the same eyes as those who began to build our intellectual inheritance rather less than 10 000 years ago.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Newton was the last of the ancient magicians and the final great mind of the early intellectual tradition that began millennia ago.
- In plain terms
- He was the final great thinker of an ancient tradition.
- What can you take from it?
- Recognize the continuity of human knowledge.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What defines a 'magician' in scientific history?
- How does tradition shape modern thought?
Another view
Labeling him a 'magician' may oversimplify his contributions.
More from Isaac Newton
His peculiar gift was the power of holding continuously in his mind a purely mental problem until he had seen it through.
Permalink to quote #37 Nature and nature's laws lay hid in night; God said 'Let Newton be' and all was light.
Permalink to quote #39 He bought a book of Iudicial Astrology out of a curiosity to see what there was in that science & read in it till he came to a figure of the heavens which he c…
Permalink to quote #36
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