NEW 
again ft fir Ifaac's Chronological Index ; a reply to which, 
by Dr. Halley, was given in the 397th number of the 
Phil. Tranf. 
Our incomparable philofopher enjoyed a regular and 
pretty equal ftate of health until he attained his eightieth 
year, when he became fubjeft to an incontinence of urine, 
which was thought to be occafioned by aftone in his blad¬ 
der, and was confidered to be incurable. However, by 
obferving a drift regimen, and ufing other precautions, 
he procured confiderable intervals of eafe during the re¬ 
maining years of his life ; but not without enduring 
fome fevere paroxyfms, which occafioned large drops of 
fweat to roll down his face. During thefe attacks, he was 
never heard to utter the leaft complaint, nor to exprefs 
any impatience ; and, as foon as he had a moment’s eafe, 
he would Ifnile and converfe with his ufual cheerful- 
nefs. Till this time, he had always read and written for 
feveral hours in a day; but he was now rendered incapa¬ 
ble of this application, and was alfo obliged to rely upon 
Mr. Conduit, who had married one of his nieces, for the 
dil'charge of his duties at the Mint. On the morning of 
the 18th of March, 1726-7, he read the news-papers, and 
converfed for a confiderable time with Dr. Mead, his 
phyfician, having then the perfeftufe of all his faculties; 
but he was finally deprived of them in the courfe of 
the fucceeding night, and he breathed his laft on the 20th 
of the lame month, when he was in the 85th year of his 
age. The laft honours were paid to his remains in a 
manner fuitable to his extraordinary merit, and that high 
eftimation in which he was defervedly held in every part 
of Europe. His body lay in ftate in the Jerufalem-cham- 
ber, adjoining the houfe of lords; and on the 28th of 
March was conveyed to Weftminfter-abbey, the lord- 
chancellor, the dukes of Montrofe and Roxburgh, and 
the earls of Pembroke, Suffex, and Macclesfield, lupport- 
ing the pall. He was interred at the entrance into the 
choir, on the left hand; where a ftately monument,.with 
a raoft elegant inscription upon it, was erefted to his 
memory. 
This great ornament of his country and of human na¬ 
ture was in perfon of a middle ftature, and rather in¬ 
clined to be fat in the latter part of his life. His counte¬ 
nance was pleafing, and venerable at the fame time, efpe- 
cially when he took oft’ his peruke, and fiiowed his white 
hair, which was pretty thick. He had never occalion to 
make ufe of fpeftacles ; and he loll but one tooth during 
the whole of his life. His charafter has been drawn by 
Dr. Pemberton, Fontenelle, and others, from whole 
writings we lhall feleft a few particulars, neceffary to 
complete the memoirs of this illuftrious man. 
In contemplating his genius, it is noteafyto determine’ 
which of thefe endowments had the greateft fhare in his 
compofition; fagacity, penetration, llrength, or diligence. 
He entertained, however, a very modelt opinion of his 
own abilities; and, in anfwer to one of his friends who 
laid fome handfome things of his extraordinary talents, 
he allured him, in an eafy and unaffefted way, that, if he 
had done any thing worth notice, and of lervice to the 
world, it was owing more to his induftry and patience of 
thought, than to any extraordinary fagacity. “ I keep 
the fubjeftconftantly before me,” laid he; “ and wait till 
the firft dawnings open llowly, by little and little, into a 
full and clear light.” Itisfaid of him, that, whenever he 
had any mathematical problems or folutions in his mind, 
he would never quit the fubjeft on any account. When 
he has been getting up in a morning, he has fometimes 
begun to drels, and with one leg in his breeches fat down 
again on the bed, where he has remained for hours.before 
he has got his clothes on. Dinner has been often three 
hours ready for him, before he could be brought to table. 
Among the other anecdotes which are told of him on this 
head, it is related that one day, his intimate friend Dr. 
Stukeley, happening to call at his houfe, was Ihown into 
the room where firlfaac ufually dined, and where a boiled 
chicken had been for fome time waiting for him under a 
T O N. 
cover; but he was then too bufily engaged in his ftudy to 
attend to fuch matters. At length the doftor, not having 
dined himfelf, and finding that fir Ifaac did not make his 
appearance, fiat down to table, and completely finilhed the 
chicken ; after which he put the bones in the difh, and 
replaced the cover. In a little while our philofopher 
came out of his ftudy, and, telling his friend that he was 
both weary and hungry, took up the cover; but, finding 
only the bones of the fowl left, obferved to his friend, 
with a fmile, “ I thought I had not dined, but I now find 
that I was miltaken.” 
However, careful as fir Ifaac was to preclude all inter¬ 
ruption when engaged in intenfe application, he was not 
fo far abforbed in philofophical purfuits as to be incapable 
of attending to any other objeft. On the contrary, he 
could arreft his thoughts in the midft of his moll intricate 
refearches, when other affairs demanded his attention; 
and, as loon as he had leifure, refume the fubjeft at the 
point where he had left off. This he feems to have done, 
not fo much by any extraordinary llrength of memory, as 
by the force of his inventive faculty, to which every 
thing opened itfelf again with eafe, if nothing intervened 
to ruffle him. The readinels of his invention made him 
not think of putting his memory much to the trial; but 
this was the offspring of a vigorous intenfenefs of thought, 
out of which he was but a common man. He fpent, 
therefore, the prime of his age in thefe abftrufe refearches, 
when his fituation in a college gave him leifure, and while 
ftudy vt'as his proper profeffion ; but, as foon as he was re¬ 
moved to the Mint, he applied himfelf chiefly to the bufi- 
nefs of that office; and fo far quitted mathematics and 
philofophy, as not to engage in any purfuits of either 
kind afterwards. Dr. Pemberton tells us, that he found 
fir Ifaac had read fewer of the modern mathematicians 
than one could have expedted; but his own prodigious 
invention fupplied him with what he might have occafion 
for in any fubjeft which he undertook. He often cen- 
fured the handling of geometrical fubjefts by algebraic 
calculations; and frequently praifed Slufius, Barrow, and 
Huygens, for not being influenced by that bad talle 
which then began to prevail. He ufed to commend the 
laudable attempt of Hugo de Omerique, to rellore the 
ancient analylis; and very much efteemed Apollonius’s 
book, “ De Seftione Rationis,” for giving us a clearer 
notion of that analyfis than we had before. Dr. Barrow 
he elceeined, as having Ihown a compafs of invention, 
equal, if not fuperior, to any of the moderns; we add, our 
author himfelf excepted. But he particularly recom¬ 
mended Huygens’s flyle and manner; and thought him 
the molt elegant of any mathematical writer in modern 
times, and the molt juft imitator of the ancients, of whole 
talle and form of demonftration fir Ifaac always profeffed 
himfelf a great admirer. Dr. Pemberton likewife ob- 
ferves, that his memory was much decayed in the laft 
years of his life; though there was no foundation for an 
opinion which was propagated, that he did not then un- 
derftand his own writings. This opinion might perhaps 
arife, from his not being always ready to fpeak on the 
fubjefts of them, when it might be expefted that he 
ftiould ; which the dobtor attributes to an occafional ab- 
fence of mind, not uncommon to men of genius. Add 
to this, that the behaviour which he had met with from 
Mr. Leibnitz, the abbe Conti, and others, had led him to 
the exercile of much caution when converfing before 
ftrangers, which had increafed into a habit of referve as 
he advanced in life. 
Our author’s temper is laid to have been fo mild and 
equal, that fcarcely any accident could difturb it. One 
inllance in particular is mentioned of this difpofition. 
He had a favourite little dog, called Diamond, which was 
one day left behind in his ftudy when he was called out 
into the adjoining room. Upon his return, he had the 
mortification to find that the animal had overthrown a 4 
■ lighted candle among fome papers, containing the almoft 
finilhed labours of many years, by which means they were 
fet 
