36 M E W 
fet on fire and almofi: entirely confumed. This lofs, as it 
took place when fir Ifaac was far advanced in life, was ir¬ 
retrievable ; yet, inftead of venting his refentment on the 
author of themifchief, he only rebuked him with this ex¬ 
clamation : “ O Diamond ! Diamond ! thou little knoweft 
themifchief thou haft done !” 
With refpeft to his religious fentiments, he was a firm 
believer in the truth of divine revelation, and a ferious 
rational Chriftian. His difcoveries concerning the frame 
and fyftem of the univerfe, he employed to demonftrate, 
againft atheifm of all kinds, the being of a God, and to 
illuftrate his power and wifdom in the creation of the 
world ; and he applied himfelf with the utmoft attention 
to the ftudy of the facred writings, and confidered the 
feveral parts of them with uncommon exaftnefs. He ad¬ 
hered to the communion of the church of England, but 
was an utter enemy to intolerance towards non-conformifts. 
He judged of men by their manners ; and the true fchif- 
matics, m his opinion, were the vicious and immoral. 
On doctrinal topics he took the liberty of judging for 
himfelf, and differed in fome points from the eftablifhed 
creed: he did lb, particularly, on the queftion concern¬ 
ing the perfon of Chrift, having adopted, as we learn from 
the teftimony of Hopton Haynes, efq. who was for many 
years connected with him in the office of the Mint, the 
Unitarian fentiment. 
He didmot riegleft the opportunities of doing good, 
which the revenues of his patrimony, and a profitable em¬ 
ployment, improved by a prudent economy, put in his 
power. When decency upon any occafion required ex- 
penfe and ffiow, he was magnificent without grudging it, 
and with a good grace ; but at all other times, that pomp 
which feems great to low minds only was utterly re¬ 
trenched, and the expenfe referved for better ufes. He 
never married ; “ and, perhaps,” fays Fontenelle, “ never 
'had leifure to think of it, taken up as he was at firft in 
profound and continual ftudy, and afterwards employed 
in an .important and conliderable poll, which left no'va¬ 
cancy in his life, nor any occafion for domeftic fociety.” 
At his death, his perfonal eftate amounted to thirty-two 
thoufand pounds, which came among his heirs-at-law, he 
having died inteftate, thinking, as Fontenelle tells us, 
that a legacy was no gift. 
_ After fir Ifaac’s death, feveral treatifes on fubjefts in 
hiftory, antiquities, divinity, chemiftry, and mathematics, 
were found among his papers, fome of which have been 
given to the world. In 1727, appeared “ A Table of the 
Allays of Foreign Coins,” drawn up by him, and pub- 
lilhed at the end of Dr. Arbuthnot’s book on that fub- 
jeft. In 1728, Mr. Conduit publilhed his “ Chronology 
of ancient Kingdoms amended; to which is prefixed a 
ffiort Chfonicle, fronrthe firft Memory of Things in Eu¬ 
rope, to the Conqueft of Perfia by Alexander the Great 
4to. In 1733, carne out his “ Obfervations on the Pro¬ 
phecies of Daniel, and the Apocalypfe of St. John ;” 4to. 
In 1736, Mr. John Colfon, afterwards profeffor of ma¬ 
thematics at Cambridge, publilhed an Englilh tranllation 
of his “ Method of Fluxions, and Analyfis by infinite 
Series,” 4to. accompanied with a perpetual commentary, 
occafioned by bilhop Berkeley’s attack on that work. In 
1737, was printed an Englilh tranllation of a Latin “ Dil- 
fertation upon the facred Cubit of the Jew's,” which was 
found fubjoined to an unfinilhed work of our author, en¬ 
titled, Lexicon Propheticum. In 1742, appeared his “ Ta¬ 
bles for p'urchafing College-Leafes,” iamo. In 1744, a 
colleftion of feveral of his pieces was publilhed at Lau- 
fanne, under the title of “ Newtoni If. Opufcula Mathe- 
matica, Philof. et Philol. collegit I. Caftilioneus,” in 8 
vols. 4to. In 1745, Mr. John Steward publilhed an Eng¬ 
lilh tranllation of his Two Treatifes on the Qradrature of 
Curves, and Analyfis by Equations of an infinite Num¬ 
ber cf Terms, in 4to. accompanied with a large commen¬ 
tary. In 1746, were printed “ If. Newtoni Elementa 
PerfpeftivaeUniyerfalis;” 8vo. In 1756, there were pub- 
liihed, “ Four Letters from Sir Ifaac Newton to Dr. Bentley, 
T O N. 
containing fome Arguments in Proof of a Deity;” SvO, 
References to fome others of his tnifcellaneous pieces and 
letters maybe found in the General Dift. and a variety of 
papers written by him, on philofophical and mathemati¬ 
cal fubjefts, are inferted in the Phil. Tranf. vols. vi-xi. 
The whole of his works were collefted together, and pub- 
liffied, with a commentary, by the Rev. Dr. Horfley, late 
bilhop of St. Afaph, in 1784, in 5 vols. 4to. Preface to 
Pemberton's View of Newton's Philofophy. Hutton's Math. 
Diet. Enfield's Hijl. Phil. Gen. Biog\ 
NEW'TON (Richard), a learned divine of the church 
of England, the founder of Hertford-college, Oxford, 
was born at Yardley-Chafe, in Northamptonlhire, in the 
year 1675. He was educated at Weftminlter fchool, and at 
a proper time w’as eledted to a ftudentlhip of Chriftchurch 
college, Oxford. Here he took his degrees of M. A. and 
B. A. but at what particular period is not known ; he pro¬ 
ceeded D. D. in the year 1710. For fome time he filled 
the office of college-tutor, during which he acquired a 
high reputation, and afterwards became private tutor in 
the family of lord Pelham, having under his care the two 
brothers of his lordftiip, who were afterwards diftinguilhed 
as ftatefmen, viz. the duke of Newcaftle and Mr. Pelham; 
and both thefe illuftrious perfons ever after entertained 
for him a very high regard. Dr. Newton had, however, 
an independent and noble fpirit, which prevented him 
from foliciting a favour, even from his own pupils, when 
they had the power of ferving him. Mr. Pelham, when 
prime-minifter, it has been laid, employed him, more 
than once, to draw up the king’s fpeeches; and, when 
that ftatefman was alked why he did not place Dr. Newton 
in aftation worthy of his merits ? he replied, How could 
I doit? he never alked me.” If his labours as a tutor 
and politician did not obtain for him the debt of juftice; 
his reputation for learning, and the excellence of his cha¬ 
racter as a clergyman, were the means of his preferment; 
Dr. Compton, bilhop of London, collated him to the 
reftory of Sudbury in Northamptonlhire; and in 1710 he 
was, through Dr. Aldrich, indufted principal of Hart- 
hall, which he retained with the living of Sudbury, where 
he relided feveral years. At this time Hart-hall was an 
appendage to Exeter-college: from aftate of dependence 
Dr. Newton conceived the projeft of refcuing it, and of 
erecting it into an independent college. In the purfuit 
of this laudable purpofe he had to encounter much op- 
pofition, particularly from Dr. Conybeare. The ftruggle 
between them lafted fome years ; and it has been faid, that 
in no conteft were two able men more equally matched 5 
and that the papers which palled between them, like Ju¬ 
nius’s Letters, deferved to be collefted, on account of 
the beauty of their ftyle, and the ingenuity of their argu¬ 
ments. Dr. Newton did, however, fucceed in accom- 
plilhing the objeft which he had in view, and in the year 
1740 obtained a charter, converting Hart-hall into Herts- 
ford-college; of which, at a great expenfe to himfelf, 
and with conliderable aid from his friends, he was the 
founder and firft head. He was aftenvards promoted to 
a canonry of Chrift-church, and held it with his princi- 
pallhip of Hertford-college till his death, which happened 
in the year 175 3, when he had attained to thefeventy-eighth 
year of his age. He was as polite a fcholar, and as accom- 
plilhed a gentleman, as almoft any perfon of the age in 
which he lived. With the modern languages, as well as 
the ancient ones of Greece and Rome, he was intimately 
acquainted. In clofenefs of argument'and perfpicuity of 
ftyle, he had no fuperior. “Never,” fays his biographer, 
“ was any private perfon employed in more trulls, nor were 
trulls ever difeharged by any man with more integrity.” 
Though attached to the church of which he was a mem¬ 
ber, he lived in habits of friendlhip with many who dif- 
fented from that church : he vifited and highly efteemed 
the celebrated Doddridge; he faw, and with pleafure ad¬ 
mitted, that they both aimed at the fame great end, in 
fitting young men for the important work of the Chriftian 
miniitry. On his death-bed, Dr. Newton ordered all his 
writings 
