Newton, the “Ancients,” and the “Moderns”

Abstract

In the judgment of many 18^th- and 19^th-century historians, Newton’s life and work epitomize modern scientific progress. In this century, despite enormous contributions to our understanding of Newton’s extensive knowledge of, and interest in, the ancient world, for many interpreters and laymen alike, Newton remains either the inaugural progenitor of “an unassailable primacy in mathematics, enlightened rationalism, and experimentation” or the “dramatic climax” of the modern scientific enterprise.²

But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and for and knowledge shall increase.

Daniel 12:4.¹