Message #27823

[Rebecca]

Newtons Alchemy

Much of what are known as Issac Newton's occult studies can largely be attributed to his study of alchemy. Newton was deeply interested in all forms of natural sciences and material theory, an interest that ultimately would lead to some of his more well known contributions. During Newton's lifetime the study of chemistry was still in its infancy, thereby leading many of his experimental studies to consist of the use of esoteric language and vague terminology more accurately associated with alchemy and occultism. It would be several decades after Newton's death that experiments of stoichiometry under the pioneering works of Antoine Lavoisier were conducted and analytical chemistry, with its associated nomenclature, would come to resemble modern chemistry as we know it today.

Newton's writings suggest that one of the main goals of his alchemy may have been the discovery of The Philosopher's Stone (a material believed to turn base metals into gold), and perhaps to a lesser extant, the discovery of the highly coveted Elixir of Life. There is no evidence to suggest he was successful in either attempt.

Some practices of alchemy were banned in England during Newton's lifetime, perhaps a result of frequent and unscrupulous practitioners who would often promise wealthy benefactors unrealistic results in an attempt to swindle money. The English Crown, also fearing the potential devaluation of gold, should The Philosopher's Stone actually be discovered, made the consequences for such pursuits extremely severe. In some cases the punishment for unsanctioned alchemy would include the public hanging of an offender on a gilded scaffold while adorned with tinsel and other accoutrements. It was for this reason, and the potential scrutiny that he feared from his peers within the scientific community, that Newton may have deliberately left his work on these subjects unpublished. Newton was well known for his inability to handle criticism, such as the numerous instances when he was criticized by Robert Hooke, and his admitted reluctance to publish any substantial information regarding Calculus before 1693. A perfectionist by nature, Newton also refrained from publication of material that he felt was incomplete, as evident from a thirty-eight year gap in time from Newton's alleged conception of Calculus in 1666 and its final full publication in 1704, which would ultimately lead to the infamous Newton vs. Leibniz Calculus Controversy.

In 1936 a collection of Issac Newton's unpublished works were auctioned by Sotheby's auction house. This material consisted of three hundred twenty-nine lots of Newton's manuscripts, of which over a third were filled with content that appeared to be alchemical in nature. At the time of Newton's death this material was considered "unfit to publish" by Newton's estate and consequently fell into obscurity until their somewhat sensational reemergence in 1936. Many of these documents were purchased directly by John Maynard Keynes during the auction, many of those that were purchased by others would also later enter Keynes collection as he purchased them in the following years before his death. Although a large amount of the auctioned material was purchased by Keynes, a majority of it was actually purchased by the eccentric document collector Abraham Yahuda, and eventually would come to be stored in the Jewish National and University Library in Jerusalem, where it still resides today. In recent years several projects have begun to gather, catalogue, and transcribe the fragmented collection of Newton's work on alchemical subjects and make them freely available for online access. Two of these are The Chymistry of Isaac Newton Project supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation, and The Newton Project supported by the U.K. Arts and Humanities Research Board.