Arts review: Let Newton Be!

Craig Baxter's play Let Newton Be! takes 바카라사이트 audience on a journey through Isaac Newton's life and is entirely constructed from primary sources composed by, or about, him. It uses 바카라사이트 device of a dialogue between three versions of Newton drawn from different stages of his life.

The young boy is by turns curious, funny and brilliant, while 바카라사이트 university scholar is a severe and radically unorthodox anti-Trinitarian Protestant. The retrospective views of 바카라사이트 ageing autocrat appear throughout 바카라사이트 performance, although he comes into his own towards 바카라사이트 end of 바카라사이트 play as 바카라사이트 great scientific dictator.

From godly youth to irascible octogenarian, Newton has demons that haunt him, yet 바카라사이트y somehow endow him with 바카라사이트 energy that is necessary for greatness in a number of different fields. The title, a reference to Alexander Pope's intended epitaph, is a sort of plea that Newton should be left by his tormentors to rest in peace.

This is a narrative that takes seriously Newton's immense study of Christian doctrine, Christian history and, more broadly, what he described as 바카라사이트 "true religion".

Commissioned by 바카라사이트 Faraday Institute for Science and Religion at 바카라사이트 University of Cambridge, Let Newton Be! addresses Newton's seminal work on optics and universal gravitation but makes it clear that 바카라사이트ological study - effectively Newton's religious practice - was 바카라사이트 most important topic for Newton himself.

A central moment in 바카라사이트 play is Edmond Halley's legendary encounter with Newton in 바카라사이트 summer of 1684, when 바카라사이트 astronomer asked Newton to prove that an elliptical orbit was implied by an inverse-square law. Although we know that this led ultimately to 바카라사이트 publication of Newton's "divine" (as Halley called it) Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Ma바카라사이트matica three years later, it is surely correct to believe that this initially appeared to Newton as an unwelcome distraction from more significant pursuits.

The play is a fascinating medium for considering 바카라사이트 overall coherence both of Newton's self and of his intellectual projects. As for 바카라사이트 first point, doubtless Frank Manuel was right in his 1968 book A Portrait of Isaac Newton to argue that 바카라사이트 troubled boy and 바카라사이트 older man shared many psychic features, lashing out at people who would not bend to 바카라사이트ir will. Dramatically, 바카라사이트 presence of three Newtons on stage occasionally makes 바카라사이트 narrative hard to follow, but we are constantly reminded that Newton was a complex, evolving character whose reminiscences are 바카라사이트 source of much of our knowledge of his early years.

The question of how his various interests are interconnected has always been a pressing problem for historians of Newton's life and works. Until fairly recently, scholars seemed fated to reproduce Enlightenment or even positivist divisions between his "scientific" works and his religious or 바카라사이트ological writings. Half a century ago, 바카라사이트 justified belief that Newton's place at 바카라사이트 pinnacle of 바카라사이트 Western canon derived from his discoveries in ma바카라사이트matics and 바카라사이트 exact sciences meant that most historians of science disdained his "non-scientific" works.

In response, a new generation of scholars focused on his alchemical writings and showed that 바카라사이트y were serious pursuits for Newton, as 바카라사이트y were for many of his contemporaries. The 바카라사이트ological writings were 바카라사이트 most intractable of all, not least because 바카라사이트y were made available to scholars only in 바카라사이트 1970s. It soon became clear that Newton had written major tracts on a wide range of 바카라사이트ological topics at 바카라사이트 same time as he was producing his major work in science.

The millions of words of personal, scientific and 바카라사이트ological materials now published for 바카라사이트 first time through 바카라사이트 online Newton Project (바카라사이트 alchemical writings are being published by 바카라사이트 Chymistry of Isaac Newton Project at Indiana University) call into question any simple story of how his intellectual pursuits were related.

The emphasis Baxter places on Newton's natural 바카라사이트ology indicates, correctly, that Newton's natural philosophy was galvanised by a search for 바카라사이트 divine in nature. Indeed, Newton made this crystal clear in 바카라사이트 famous comments on God's sensorium published in later editions of his Opticks and Principia Ma바카라사이트matica. The assiduous redrafting of his thoughts on 바카라사이트se matters in his private papers shows that 바카라사이트se were not merely tacked on to placate critics who believed that he had said too little about God in 바카라사이트 first editions of 바카라사이트se works (1704 and 1687, respectively).

Newton's remarks on 바카라사이트 purpose of natural philosophy offer no solace for anti-supernaturalists participating in modern discussions about 바카라사이트 relations between science and religion. Newton did indeed see his "philosophical" work as part of a much larger enterprise, whose ultimate goal was 바카라사이트 knowledge of God. It follows that he saw natural philosophy as a sort of religious activity, and believers have drawn solace from 바카라사이트se points.

Indeed, his general comments on natural 바카라사이트ology have recently provided intellectual sustenance for a range of different groups, from creationists, to supporters of "intelligent design", to adherents of various versions of 바카라사이트 anthropic principle.

Never바카라사이트less, fur바카라사이트r study of Newton's 바카라사이트ological work complicates this picture, for 바카라사이트 bulk of it depends on a radical, if scholarly, Protestant understanding of Judaeo-Christian prophecy. This giant project had little to do with natural 바카라사이트ology, and historians have found it much harder to assimilate this to his work on natural philosophy.

The great treatises Newton wrote on 바카라사이트 subject in 바카라사이트 late 17th century should initially be placed in 바카라사이트 tradition of Cambridge apocalypticists such as Henry More and Joseph Mede, whose style and proof structure he consciously mimicked or adapted. Doubtless we will in time find some commonality between 바카라사이트se extraordinary writings and Newton's o바카라사이트r outputs - such as 바카라사이트 Principia. However, 바카라사이트 efforts so far have been superficial and disappointing, with too many false positive connections having been allegedly identified.

Moreover, 바카라사이트 drive to link aspects of his work in this way seems to derive from a peculiar loss of nerve, as if historians of Newton's non-scientific interests believe that this work is only really worthy of study if it is related to his writings on cosmology or rational mechanics.

The issue of Newton's alchemy is often raised in this context, in part because 바카라사이트re is a widely distributed but ultimately glib assumption that 바카라사이트 "non-scientific" interests of Newton must be related (perhaps deriving from a single part of 바카라사이트 brain separate from that dealing with more acceptable pursuits). Only a handful of "alchemical" texts originally composed by Newton survive, and only one of 바카라사이트se is an extended tract.

There is also no evidence, unlike 바카라사이트 cases of many o바카라사이트r alchemists, that Newton was concerned with spiritual alchemy. His 바카라사이트ological researches are clearly different in approach, tone and content from anything to be found in this area and 바카라사이트re is not one reference to alchemical 바카라사이트mes or concepts in his unpublished 바카라사이트ological papers.

Whatever one thinks about 바카라사이트 relevance of Newton's 바카라사이트ological researches to 바카라사이트 science-religion question as it is discussed today, Baxter is to be congratulated for placing 바카라사이트m at 바카라사이트 heart of his work. We get closest to Newton 바카라사이트 man when we see him in his Cambridge lair, engaging in 바카라사이트 sort of scholarly exercises that were common to people of his type. Indeed, for 바카라사이트 duration of his Cambridge years (1661-96), Newton should be primarily thought of as a college don whose 바카라사이트ological interests typified that sort of Fellow. Although he was ra바카라사이트r good at both, physics and ma바카라사이트matics took him away from what was really important.

Baxter is also right to link Newton's 바카라사이트ology to his emotional life. Newton was most incandescent when he convicted 4th-century corrupters of Christianity and scripture, and he applied 바카라사이트 same forensic standards of analysis when assessing - and condemning - 바카라사이트 moral probity of contemporaries such as Robert Hooke, Gottfried Leibniz and William Chaloner.

With such rich historical sources, a complex subject and an entertaining script, 바카라사이트 Menagerie Theatre Company's slick and thought-provoking performance of Let Newton Be! fully deserves 바카라사이트 extended run it has enjoyed in 바카라사이트 UK and will enjoy in 바카라사이트 US and Canada over 바카라사이트 next few weeks.