The history of the theological studies of Sir Isaac Newton will ever be regarded as one of the most interesting portions of his life. That he who among all the individuals of his species possessed8 the highest intellectual powers was not only a learned and profound divine, but a firm believer in the great doctrines10 of religion, is one of the proudest triumphs of the Christian1 faith. Had he distinguished11 himself only by an external respect for the offices and duties of religion; and had he left merely in his last words an acknowledgment of his faith, his piety12 would have been regarded as a prudent13 submission14 to popular feeling, and his last aspirations15 would have been ascribed to the decay or to the extinction16 of his transcendent powers. But he had been a Christian from his youth, and though never intended for the church, yet he interchanged the study of the Scriptures17 with that of the laws of the material universe; and from the examination of the works of the Supreme18 Creator he found it to be no abrupt243 transition to investigate the revelation of his will, and to contemplate19 the immortal20 destinies of mankind.
But when the religious habits of Sir Isaac Newton could not be ascribed to an ambition of popularity, to the influence of weak health, or to the force of professional impulse, it became necessary for the apostles of infidelity to refer it to some extraordinary cause. His supposed insanity21 was therefore eagerly seized upon by some as affording a plausible22 origin for his religious principles; while others, without any view of supporting the cause of skepticism, ascribed his theological researches to the habits of the age in which he lived, and to a desire of promoting political liberty, by turning against the abetters of despotism those powerful weapons which the Scriptures supplied. The anxiety evinced by M. de Laplace to refer his religious writings to a late period of his life seems to have been felt also by M. Biot, who has gone so far as to fix the very date of one of his most important works, and thus to establish the suspicions of his colleague.
“From the nature of the subject,”103 says he, “and from certain indications which Newton seems to give at the beginning of his dissertation24, we may conjecture25 with probability that he composed it at the time when the errors of Whiston, and a work of Dr. Clarke on the same subject, drew upon them the attacks of all the theologians of England, which would place the date between the years 1712 and 1719. It would then be truly a prodigy26 to remark, that a man of from seventy-two to seventy-five years of age was able to compose, rapidly, as he leads us to believe, so extensive a piece of sacred criticism, of literary history, and even of bibliography27, where an erudition the most vast, the most244 varied28, and the most ready always supports an argument well arranged and powerfully combined. * * * At this epoch30 of the life of Newton the reading of religious books had become one of his most habitual31 occupations, and after he had performed the duties of his office, they formed, along with the conversation of his friends, his principal amusement. He had then almost ceased to care for the sciences, and, as we have already remarked, since the fatal epoch of 1693, he gave to the world only three really new scientific productions.”
Notwithstanding the prodigy which it involves, M. Biot has adopted 1712–1719 as the date of this critical dissertation;—it is regarded as the composition of a man of seventy-two or seventy-five;—the reading of religious works is stated to have become one of his most habitual occupations, and such reading is said to have been one of his principal amusements; and all this is associated with “the fatal epoch of 1693,” as if his illness at that time had been the cause of his abandoning science and betaking himself to theology. Carrying on the same views, M. Biot asks, in reference to Sir Isaac’s work on Prophecy, “How a mind of the character and force of Newton’s, so habituated to the severity of mathematical considerations, so exercised in the observation of real phenomena32, and so well aware of the conditions by which truth is to be discovered, could put together such a number of conjectures33 without noticing the extreme improbability of his interpretations34 from the infinite number of arbitrary postulates36 on which he has founded them?” We would apply the same question to the reasoning by which M. Biot fixes the date of the critical dissertation; and we would ask how so eminent37 a philosopher could hazard such frivolous38 conjectures upon a subject on which he had not a single fact to guide his inquiries39. The obvious tendency, though not the design, of the conclusion at which he arrives is injurious to the245 memory of Newton, as well as to the interests of religion; and these considerations might have checked the temerity40 of speculation41, even if it had been founded on better data. The Newtonian interpretation35 of the Prophecies, and especially that part which M. Biot characterizes as unhappily stamped with the spirit of prejudice, has been adopted by men of the soundest and most unprejudiced minds; and in addition to the moral and historical evidence by which it is supported, it may yet be exhibited in all the fulness of demonstration42. But the speculation of Biot respecting the date of Newton’s theological works was never maintained by any other person than himself, and is capable of being disproved by the most incontrovertible evidence.
We have already seen, in the extract from Mr. Pryme’s manuscript, that previous to 1692, when a shade is supposed to have passed over his gifted mind, Newton was well known by the appellation44 of an “excellent divine,”—a character which could not have been acquired without the devotion of many years to theological researches; but, important as this argument would have been, we are fortunately not left to so general a defence. The correspondence of Newton with Locke, recently published by Lord King, places it beyond a doubt that he had begun his researches respecting the Prophecies before the year 1691,—before the forty-ninth year of his age, and before the “fatal epoch of 1693.” The following letter shows that he had previously45 discussed this subject with his friend:—
Cambridge, Feb. 7, 1690–1.
“Sir,
“I am sorry your journey proved to so little purpose, though it delivered you from the trouble of the company the day after. You have obliged me by mentioning me to my friends at London, and I must thank both you and my Lady Masham for your civilities at Oates, and for not thinking that I made246 a long stay there. I hope we shall meet again in due time, and then I should be glad to have your judgment46 upon some of my mystical fancies. The Son of Man, Dan. vii. I take to be the same with the Word of God upon the White Horse in Heaven, Apoc. xii., for both are to rule the nations with a rod of iron; but whence are you certain that the Ancient of Days is Christ? Does Christ anywhere sit upon the throne? If Sir Francis Masham be at Oates, present, I pray, my service to him, with his lady, Mrs. Cudworth, and Mrs. Masham. Dr. Covel is not in Cambridge.—I am your affectionate and humble47 servant,
“Is. Newton.
“Know you the meaning of Dan. x. 21. There is none that holdeth with me in these things but Mich. the prince.”
Having thus determined48 the date of those investigations49 which constitute his observations on the prophecies of holy writ23, particularly the prophecies of Daniel and the Apocalypse, we shall proceed to fix the latest date of his historical account of two notable corruptions of the Scripture, in a letter to a friend.
This work seems to have been a very early production of our author. It was written in the form of a letter to Mr. Locke, and at that time Sir Isaac seems to have been anxious for its publication. Afraid, however, of being again led into a controversy51, and dreading52 the intolerance to which he might be exposed, he requested Mr. Locke, who was at that time meditating53 a voyage to Holland, to get it translated into French, and published on the Continent. Having abandoned his design of visiting Holland, Locke transmitted the manuscript, without Newton’s name, to his learned friend M. Le Clerc, in Holland; and it appears, from a letter of Le Clerc’s to Locke, that he must have received it before the 11th April, 1691. M. Le Clerc delayed247 for a long time to take any steps regarding its publication; but in a letter dated January 20th, 1692, he announced to Locke his intention of publishing the tract43 in Latin. When this plan was communicated to Sir Isaac, he became alarmed at the risk of detection, and resolved to stop the publication of his manuscript. This resolution was intimated to Mr. Locke in the following letter:
Cambridge, Feb. 16th, 1691–2.
“Sir,
“Your former letters came not to my hand, but this I have. I was of opinion my papers had lain still, and am sorry to hear there is news about them. Let me entreat54 you to stop their translation and impression so soon as you can; for I design to suppress them. If your friend hath been at any pains and charge, I will repay it, and gratify him. I am very glad my Lord Monmouth is till my friend, but intend not to give his lordship and you any farther trouble. My inclinations55 are to sit still. I am to beg his lordship’s pardon for pressing into his company the last time I saw him. I had not done it, but that Mr. Paulin pressed me into the room. Miracles, of good credit, continued in the church for about two or three hundred years. Gregorius Thaumaturgus had his name from thence, and was one of the latest who was eminent for that gift; but of their number and frequency I am not able to give you a just account. The history of those ages is very imperfect. Mr. Paulin told me you had writ for some of Mr. Boyle’s red earth, and by that I knew you had the receipt.—Your most affectionate and humble servant,
“Is. Newton.”
Hence we see that this celebrated56 treatise57, which Biot alleges58 to have been written between 1712 and 1719, was actually in the hands of Le Clerc in Holland previous to the 11th April, 1691, and consequently previous to the time of the supposed insanity248 of its author. Mr. Locke lost no time in obeying the request of his friend. Le Clerc instantly stopped the publication of the letter, and, as he had never learned the name of the author, he deposited the manuscript, which was in the handwriting of Mr. Locke, in the library of the Remonstrants, where it was afterward59 found, and was published at London in 1754, under the title of Two letters from Sir Isaac Newton to M. Le Clerc,—a form which had never been given to it by its author. The copy thus published was a very imperfect one, wanting both the beginning104 and the end, and erroneous in many places; but Dr. Horsley has published a genuine edition, which has the form of a single letter to a friend, and was copied from a manuscript in Sir Isaac Newton’s handwriting, in the possession of the Rev7. Dr. Ekins, Dean of Carlisle.
Having thus determined as accurately60 as possible the dates of the principal theological writings of Sir Isaac, we shall now proceed to give some account of their contents.
The Observations on the Prophecies of Daniel and the Apocalypse of St. John were published in London in 1733, in one volume 4to. The work is divided into two parts, the first of which treats of the Prophecies of Daniel, and the second of the Apocalypse of St. John. It begins with an account of the different books which compose the Old Testament61; and as the author considers Daniel to be the most distinct in the order of time, and the easiest to be understood, he makes him the key to all the prophetic books in those matters which relate to the “last time.” He next considers the figurative language of the prophets, which he regards as taken “from the analogy between the world natural and an empire or kingdom considered as a world politic;” the heavens and the things therein representing thrones and dynasties; the earth, with the things therein, the249 inferior people; and the lowest parts of the earth the most miserable62 of the people. The sun is put for the whole race of kings, the moon for the body of the common people, and the stars for subordinate princes and rulers. In the earth, the dry land and the waters are put for the people of several nations. Animals and vegetables are also put for the people of several regions. When a beast or man is put for a kingdom, his parts and qualities are put for the analogous63 parts and qualities of the kingdom; and when a man is taken in a mystical sense, his qualities are often signified by his actions, and by the circumstances and things about him. In applying these principles he begins with the vision of the image composed of four different metals. This image he considers as representing a body of four great nations which should reign64 in succession over the earth, viz. the people of Babylonia, the Persians, the Greeks, and the Romans; while the stone cut out without hands is a new kingdom which should arise after the four, conquer all those nations, become very great, and endure to the end of time.
The vision of the four beasts is the prophecy of the four empires repeated, with several new additions. The lion with eagles’ wings was the kingdom of Babylon and Media, which overthrew65 the Assyrian power. The beast like a bear was the Persian empire, and its three ribs66 were the kingdoms of Sardis, Babylon, and Egypt. The third beast, like a leopard67, was the Greek empire, and its four heads and four wings were the kingdoms of Cassander, Lysimachus, Ptolemy, and Seleucus. The fourth beast, with its great iron teeth, was the Roman empire, and its ten horns were the ten kingdoms into which it was broken in the reign of Theodosius the Great.
In the fifth chapter Sir Isaac treats of the kingdoms represented by the feet of the image composed of iron and clay which did not stick to one another, and which were of different strength. These were250 the Gothic tribes called Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Vandals, Gepid?, Lombards, Burgundians, Alans, &c.; all of whom had the same manners and customs, and spoke68 the same language, and who, about the year 416 A. C. were all quietly settled in several kingdoms within the empire, not only by conquest, but by grants of emperor.
In the sixth chapter he treats of the ten kingdoms represented by the ten horns of the fourth beast, into which the western empire became divided about the time when Rome was besieged69 and taken by the Goths. These kingdoms were,
?1. The kingdom of the Vandals and Alans in Spain and Africa.
?2. The kingdom of Suevians in Spain.
?3. The kingdom of the Visigoths.
?4. The kingdom of the Alans in Gaul.
?5. The kingdom of the Burgundians.
?6. The kingdom of the Franks.
?7. The kingdom of the Britains.
?8. The kingdom of the Huns.
?9. The kingdom of the Lombards.
10. The kingdom of Ravenna.
Some of these kingdoms at length fell, and new ones sprung up; but whatever was their subsequent number, they still retain the name of the ten kings from their first number.
The eleventh horn of Daniel’s fourth beast is shown in chapter vii. to be the Church of Rome in its triple character of a seer, a prophet, and a king; and its power to change times and laws is copiously70 illustrated71 in chapter viii.
In the ninth chapter our author treats of the kingdom represented in Daniel by the ram72 and he-goat, the ram indicating the kingdom of the Medes and Persians from the beginning of the four empires, and the he-goat the kingdom of the Greeks to the end of them.
The prophecy of the seventy weeks, which had251 hitherto been restricted to the first coming of our Saviour73, is shown to be a prediction of all the main periods relating to the coming of the Messiah, the times of his birth and death, the time of his rejection74 by the Jews, the duration of the Jewish war by which he caused the city and sanctuary75 to be destroyed, and the time of his second coming.
In the eleventh chapter Sir Isaac treats with great sagacity and acuteness of the time of our Saviour’s birth and passion,—a subject which had perplexed76 all preceding commentators77.
After explaining in the twelfth chapter the last prophecy of Daniel, namely, that of the scripture of truth, which he considers as a commentary on the vision of the ram and he-goat, he proceeds in the thirteenth chapter to the prophecy of the king who did according to his will, and magnified himself above every god, and honoured Mahuzzims, and regarded not the desire of women. He shows that the Greek empire, after the division of the Roman empire into the Greek and Latin empires, became the king who in matters of religion did according to his will, and in legislation exalted78 and magnified himself above every god.
In the second part of his work on the Apocalypse of St. John, Sir Isaac treats, 1st, Of the time when the prophecy was written, which he conceives to have been during John’s exile in Patmos, and before the epistle to the Hebrews and the epistles of Peter were written, which in his opinion have a reference to the Apocalypse; 2dly, Of the scene of the vision, and the relation which the Apocalypse has to the book of the law of Moses, and to the worship of God in the temple; and, 3dly, Of the relation which the Apocalypse has to the prophecies of Daniel, and of the subject of the prophecy itself.
Sir Isaac regards the prophecies of the Old and New Testaments79, not as given to gratify men’s curiosities, by enabling them to foreknow things, but that252 after they were fulfilled, they might be interpreted by the event, and afford convincing arguments that the world is governed by Providence80, he considers that there is so much of this prophecy already fulfilled as to afford to the diligent81 student sufficient instances of God’s providence; and he adds, that “among the interpreters of the last age, there is scarce one of note who hath not made some discovery worth knowing, and thence it seems one may gather that God is about opening these mysteries. The success of others,” he continues, “put me upon considering it, and if I have done any thing which may be useful to following writers, I have my design.”
Such is a brief abstract of this ingenious work, which is characterized by great learning, and marked with the sagacity of its distinguished author. The same qualities of his mind are equally conspicuous82 in his Historical Account of Two Notable Corruptions of Scripture.
This celebrated treatise relates to two texts in the Epistles of St. John and St. Paul. The first of these is in 1 John v. 7. “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one.” This text he considers as a gross corruption3 of Scripture, which had its origin among the Latins, who interpreted the Spirit, Water, and Blood to be the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, in order to prove them one. With the same view Jerome inserted the Trinity in express words in his version. The Latins marked his variations in the margins83 of their books; and in the twelfth and following centuries, when the disputations of the schoolmen were at their height, the variation began to creep into the text in transcribing84. After the invention of printing, it crept out of the Latin into the printed Greek, contrary to the authority of all the Greek manuscripts and ancient versions; and from the Venetian press it went soon after into Greece. After proving these positions253 Sir Isaac gives the following paraphrase85 of this remarkable86 passage, which is given in italics.
“Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God, that Son spoken of in the Psalms87, where he saith, ‘thou art my Son; this day have I begotten88 thee.’ This is he that, after the Jews had long expected him, came, first in a mortal body, by baptism of water, and then in an immortal one, by shedding his blood upon the cross and rising again from the dead; not by water only, but by water and blood; being the Son of God, as well by his resurrection from the dead (Acts xiii. 33), as by his supernatural birth of the virgin89 (Luke i. 35). And it is the Spirit also that, together with the water and blood, beareth witness of the truth of his coming; because the Spirit is truth; and so a fit and unexceptionable witness. For there are three that bear record of his coming; the Spirit, which he promised to send, and which was since shed forth90 upon us in the form of cloven tongues, and in various gifts; the baptism of water, wherein God testified ‘this is my beloved Son;’ and the shedding of his blood, accompanied with his resurrection, whereby he became the most faithful martyr91, or witness, of this truth. And these three, the spirit, the baptism, and passion of Christ, agree in witnessing one and the same thing (namely, that the Son of God is come); and, therefore, their evidence is strong: for the law requires but two consenting witnesses, and here we have three: and if we receive the witness of men, the threefold witness of God, which he bare of his Son, by declaring at his baptism ‘this is my beloved Son,’ by raising him from the dead, and by pouring out his Spirit on us, is greater; and, therefore, ought to be more readily received.”
While the Latin Church was corrupting92 the preceding text, the Greek Church was doing the same to St. Paul’s 1st Epistle to Timothy iii. 16. Great is the mystery of godliness, God manifest in the flesh.254 According to Sir Isaac, this reading was effected by changing σ into ΘΣ, the abbreviation of Θεο?, and after proving this by a learned and ingenious examination of ancient manuscripts, he concludes that the reading should be Great is the mystery of Godliness who (viz. our Saviour) was manifest in the flesh.
As this learned dissertation had the effect of depriving the defenders93 of the doctrine9 of the Trinity of the aid of two leading texts, Sir Isaac Newton has been regarded as an Antitrinitarian; but such a conclusion is not warranted by any thing which he has published;105 and he distinctly warns us, that his object was solely94 to “purge95 the truth of things spurious.” We are disposed, on the contrary, to think that he declares his belief in the doctrine of the Trinity when he says, “In the eastern nations, and for a long time in the western, the faith subsisted96 without this text; and it is rather a danger to religion than an advantage, to make it now lean upon a bruised97 reed. There cannot be better service done to the truth than to purge it of things spurious; and therefore, knowing your prudence98 and calmness of temper, I am confident I shall not offend you by telling you my mind plainly; especially since it is no article of faith, no point of discipline, nothing but a criticism concerning a text of Scripture which I am going to write about.” The word faith in the preceding passage cannot mean faith in the Scriptures in general, but faith in the particular doctrine of the Trinity; for it is this article of faith only to which the author refers when he deprecates its leaning on a bruised reed. But, whatever be the meaning of this passage, we know that Sir Isaac was greatly255 offended at Mr. Whiston for having represented him as an Arian; and so much did he resent the conduct of his friend in ascribing to him heretical opinions, that he would not permit him to be elected a Fellow of the Royal Society while he was President.106
The only other religious works which were composed by Sir Isaac Newton were his Lexicon Propheticum, to which was added a Dissertation on the sacred cubit of the Jews, and Four Letters addressed to Dr. Bentley, containing some arguments in proof of a Deity99.
The Lexicon Propheticum was left incomplete, and has not been published; but the Latin Dissertation which was appended to it, in which he shows that the cubit was about 26? Roman unci?, was published in 1737 among the Miscellaneous Works of Mr. John Greaves.
Upon the death of the Honourable100 Robert Boyle, on the 30th of December, 1691, it was found, by a codicil101 to his will, that he had left a revenue of 50l. per annum to establish a lectureship, in which eight discourses102 were to be preached annually103 in one of the churches of the metropolis104, in illustration of the evidences of Christianity, and in opposition105 to the principles of infidelity. Dr. Bentley, though a very young man, was appointed to preach the first course of sermons, and the manner in which he discharged this important duty gave the highest satisfaction, not only to the trustees of the lectureship, but to the public in general. In the first six lectures Bentley exposed the folly106 of atheism107 even in reference to the present life, and derived108 powerful arguments for the existence of a Deity from the faculties109 of the soul, and the structure and functions of the human frame. In order to complete his plan, he proposed to devote his seventh and eighth lectures to the demonstration of a Divine Providence from the physical constitution256 of the universe, as established in the Principia. In order to qualify himself for this task, he received from Sir Isaac written directions respecting a list of books necessary to be perused111 previous to the study of that work;107 and having made himself master of the system which it contained, he applied112 it with irresistible113 force of argument to establish the existence of an overruling mind. Previous to the publication of these lectures, Bentley encountered a difficulty which he was not able to solve, and he prudently114 transmitted to Sir Isaac during 1692 a series of queries115 on the subject. This difficulty occurred in an argument urged by Lucretius, to prove the eternity116 of the world from an hypothesis of deriving117 the frame of it by mechanical principles from matter endowed with an innate118 power of gravity, and evenly scattered119 throughout the heavens. Sir Isaac willingly entered upon the consideration of the subject, and transmitted his sentiments to Dr. Bentley in the four letters which have been noticed in a preceding chapter.
In the first108 of these letters Sir Isaac mentions that when he wrote his treatise about our system, viz. the Third Book of the Principia, “he had an eye upon such principles as might work, with considering men, for the belief of a Deity, and he expresses his happiness that it has been found useful for that purpose. In answering the first query120 of Dr. Bentley, the exact import of which we do not know, he states, that, if matter were evenly diffused121 through a finite space, and endowed with innate gravity, it would fall down into the middle of the space, and form one great spherical122 mass; but if it were diffused through an infinite space, some of it would collect into one mass, and some into another,257 so as to form an infinite number of great masses. In this manner the sun and stars might be formed if the matter were of a lucid123 nature. But he thinks it inexplicable124 by natural causes, and to be ascribed to the counsel and contrivance of a voluntary Agent, that the matter should divide itself into two sorts, part of it composing a shining body like the sun, and part an opaque125 body like the planets. Had a natural and blind cause, without contrivance and design, placed the earth in the centre of the moon’s orbit, and Jupiter in the centre of his system of satellites, and the sun in the centre of the planetary system, the sun would have been a body like Jupiter and the earth, that is, without light and heat, and consequently he knows no reason why there is only one body qualified127 to give light and heat to all the rest, but because the Author of the system thought it convenient, and because one was sufficient to warm and enlighten all the rest.
To the second query of Dr. Bentley, he replies that the motions which the planets now have could not spring from any natural cause alone, but were impressed by an intelligent Agent. “To make such a system with all its motions required a cause which understood and compared together the quantities of matter in the several bodies of the sun and planets, and the gravitating powers resulting from thence; the several distances of the primary planets from the sun, and of the secondary ones from Saturn128, Jupiter, and the earth, and the velocities129 with which those planets could revolve130 about those quantities of matter in the central bodies; and to compare and adjust all these things together in so great a variety of bodies, argues that cause to be not blind and fortuitous, but very well skilled in mechanics and geometry.”
In the second109 letter, he admits that the spherical258 mass formed by the aggregation131 of particles would affect the figure of the space in which the matter was diffused, provided the matter descends132 directly downwards133 to that body, and the body has no diurnal134 rotation135; but he states, that by earthquakes loosening the parts of this solid, the protuberance might sink a little by their weight, and the mass by degrees approach a spherical figure. He then proceeds to correct an error of Dr. Bentley’s in supposing that all infinites are equal. He admits that gravity might put the planets in motion, but he maintains that, without the Divine power, it could never give them such a circulating motion as they have about the sun, because a proper quantity of a transverse motion is necessary for this purpose; and he concludes that he is compelled to ascribe the frame of this system to an intelligent Agent.
The third letter contains opinions confirming or correcting several positions which Dr. Bentley had laid down, and he concludes it with a curious examination of the opinion of Plato, that the motion of the planets is such as if they had been all created by God in some region very remote from our system, and let fall from thence towards the sun, their falling motion being turned aside into a transverse one whenever they arrived at their several orbits. Sir Isaac shows that there is no common place such as that conjectured136 by Plato, provided the gravitating power of the sun remains137 constant; but that Plato’s affirmation is true if we suppose the gravitating power of the sun to be doubled at that moment of time when they all arrive at their several orbits. “If we suppose,” says he, “the gravity of all the planets towards the sun to be of such a quantity as it really is, and that the motions of the planets are turned upwards138, every planet will ascend139 to twice its height from the sun. Saturn will ascend till he be twice as high from the sun as he is at present, and no higher; Jupiter will ascend as259 high again as at present, that is, a little above the orb126 of Saturn; Mercury will ascend to twice his present height, that is, to the orb of Venus; and so of the rest; and then, by falling down again from the places to which they ascended140, they will arise again at their several orbs141 with the same velocities they had at first, and with which they now revolve.
“But if so soon as their motions by which they revolve are turned upwards, the gravitating power of the sun, by which their ascent142 is perpetually retarded143, be diminished by one-half, they will now ascend perpetually, and all of them, at all equal distances from the sun, will be equally swift. Mercury, when he arrives at the orb of Venus, will be as swift as Venus; and he and Venus, when they arrive at the orb of the earth, will be as swift as the earth; and so of the rest. If they begin all of them to ascend at once, and ascend in the same line, they will constantly, in ascending144, become nearer and nearer together, and their motions will constantly approach to an equality, and become at length slower than any motion assignable. Suppose, therefore, that they ascended till they were almost contiguous, and their motions inconsiderably little, and that all their motions were at the same moment of time turned back again, or, which comes almost to the same thing, that they were only deprived of their motions, and let fall at that time, they would all at once arrive at their several orbs, each with the velocity145 it had at first; and if their motions were then turned sideways, and at the same time the gravitating power of the sun doubled, that it might be strong enough to retain them in their orbs, they would revolve in them as before their ascent. But if the gravitating power of the sun was not doubled, they would go away from their orbs into the highest heavens in parabolical lines.”110
260 In the fourth letter111 he states, that the hypothesis that matter is at first evenly diffused through the universe is in his opinion inconsistent with the hypothesis of innate gravity without a supernatural power to reconcile them, and therefore it infers a Deity. “For if there be innate gravity, it is impossible now for the matter of the earth and all the planets and stars to fly up from them, and become evenly spread throughout all the heavens without a supernatural power; and certainly that which can never be hereafter without a supernatural power, could never be heretofore without the same power.”
These letters, of which we have endeavoured to give a brief summary, will well repay the most attentive146 perusal147 by the philosopher as well as the divine. They are written with much perspicuity148 of language and great power of thought, and they contain results which incontestably prove that their author was fully29 master of his noblest faculties, and comprehended the profoundest parts of his own writings.112
The logical acuteness, the varied erudition, and the absolute freedom from all prejudice which shine throughout the theological writings of Newton, might have protected them from the charge of having been written in his old age, and at a time when a failure of mind was supposed to have unfitted him for his mathematical investigations. But it is fortunate for his reputation, as well as for the interests of Christianity, that we have been able to prove the incorrectness of such insinuations, and to exhibit the most irrefragable evidence that all the theological 261 writings of Newton were composed in the vigour149 of his life, and before the crisis of that bodily disorder150 which is supposed to have affected151 his reason. The able letters to Dr. Bentley were even written in the middle of that period when want of sleep and appetite had disturbed the serenity152 of his mind, and enable us to prove that this disturbance153, whatever was its amount, never affected the higher functions of his understanding.
When a philosopher of distinguished eminence154, and we believe not inimical to the Christian faith, has found it necessary to make a laboured apology for a man like Newton writing on theological subjects, and has been led to render that apology more complete by referring this class of his labours to a mind debilitated155 by age and weakened by its previous aberrations156, it may be expected from an English biographer, and one who acknowledges the importance of revealed truth, and the paramount157 interest of such subjects above all secular158 studies, to suggest the true origin of Newton’s theological inquiries.
When a mind of great and acknowledged power first directs its energies to the study of the material universe, no indications of order attract his notice, and no proofs of design call forth his admiration159. In the starry160 firmament161 he sees no bodies of stupendous magnitude, and no distances of immeasurable span. The two great luminaries162 appear vastly inferior in magnitude to many objects around him, and the greatest distances in the heavens seem even inferior to those which his own eye can embrace on the surface of the earth. The planets, when observed with care, are seen to have a motion among the fixed stars, and to vary in their magnitude and distances, but these changes appear to follow no law. Sometimes they move to the east, sometimes to the west, sometimes towards the north, and sometimes towards the south, and at other times262 they are absolutely stationary163. No system, in short, appears, and no general law seems to direct their motions. By the observations and inquiries of astronomers164, however, during successive ages, a regular system has been recognised in this chaos165 of moving bodies, and the magnitudes, distances, and revolutions of every planet which composes it has been determined with the most extraordinary accuracy. Minds fitted and prepared for this species of inquiry166 are capable of understanding the great variety of evidence by which the truth of the planetary system is established; but thousands of individuals who are even distinguished in other branches of knowledge are incapable167 of such researches, and view with a skeptical168 eye the great and irrefragable truths of astronomy.
That the sun is stationary in the centre of our system,—that the earth moves round the sun, and round its own axis,—that the earth is 8000 miles in diameter, and the sun one hundred and ten times as large,—that the earth’s orbit is 190 millions of miles in breadth,—and that if this immense space were filled with light, it would appear only like a luminous169 point at the nearest fixed star,—are positions absolutely unintelligible170 and incredible to all who have not carefully studied the subject. To millions of our species, then, the great book of nature is absolutely sealed, though it is in the power of all to unfold its pages, and to peruse110 those glowing passages which proclaim the power and wisdom of its mighty171 Author.
The book of revelation exhibits to us the same peculiarities172 as that of nature. To the ordinary eye it presents no immediate173 indications of its Divine origin. Events apparently174 insignificant—supernatural interferences seemingly unnecessary—doctrines almost contradictory—and prophecies nearly unintelligible occupy its pages. The history of the fall of man—of the introduction of moral263 and physical evil—the prediction of a Messiah—the actual advent175 of our Saviour—his instructions—his miracles—his death—his resurrection—and the subsequent propagation of his religion by the unlettered fishermen of Galilee, are each a stumbling block to the wisdom of this world. The youthful and vigorous mind, when first summoned to peruse the Scriptures, turns from them with disappointment. It recognises in them no profound science—no secular wisdom—no Divine eloquence—no disclosures of nature’s secrets—no direct impress of an Almighty176 hand. But, though the system of revealed truth which this book contains is, like that of the universe, concealed177 from common observation, yet the labours of centuries have established its Divine origin, and developed in all its order and beauty the great plan of human restoration. In the chaos of its incidents we discover the whole history of our species, whether it is delineated in events that are past or shadowed forth in those which are to come,—from the creation of man and the origin of evil, to the extinction of his earthly dynasty and the commencement of his immortal career.
The antiquity178 and authenticity179 of the books which compose the sacred canon,—the fulfilment of its prophecies,—the miraculous180 works of its founder,—his death and resurrection, have been demonstrated to all who are capable of appreciating the force of historical evidence; and in the poetical181 and prose compositions of the inspired authors we discover a system of doctrine and a code of morality traced in characters as distinct and legible as the most unerring truths in the material world. False systems of religion have indeed been deduced from the sacred record,—as false systems of the universe have sprung from the study of the book of nature,—but the very prevalence of a false system proves the existence of one that is true; and though the two classes of facts necessarily depend on different264 kinds of evidence, yet we scruple182 not to say that the Copernican system is not more demonstrably true than the system of theological truth contained in the Bible. If men of high powers, then, are still found, who are insensible to the evidence which sustains the system of the universe, need we wonder that there are others whose minds are shut against the effulgent183 evidence which intrenches the strongholds of our faith.
If such, then, is the character of the Christian faith, we need not be surprised that it was embraced and expounded184 by such a genius as Sir Isaac Newton. Cherishing its doctrines, and leaning on its promises, he felt it his duty, as it was his pleasure, to apply to it that intellectual strength which had successfully surmounted185 the difficulties of the material universe. The fame which that success procured186 him he could not but feel to be the breath of popular applause, which administered only to his personal feelings; but the investigation50 of the sacred mysteries, while it prepared his own mind for its final destiny, was calculated to promote the spiritual interests of thousands. This noble impulse he did not hesitate to obey, and by thus uniting philosophy with religion, he dissolved the league which genius had formed with skepticism, and added to the cloud of witnesses the brightest name of ancient or of modern times.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
Christian
|
|
| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
fixed
|
|
| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
corruption
|
|
| n.腐败，堕落，贪污 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
corruptions
|
|
| n.堕落( corruption的名词复数 )；腐化；腐败；贿赂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
scripture
|
|
| n.经文，圣书，手稿；Scripture:(常用复数)《圣经》，《圣经》中的一段 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
lexicon
|
|
| n.字典，专门词汇 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
rev
|
|
| v.发动机旋转，加快速度 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
possessed
|
|
| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
doctrine
|
|
| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
doctrines
|
|
| n.教条( doctrine的名词复数 )；教义；学说；（政府政策的）正式声明 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
distinguished
|
|
| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
piety
|
|
| n.虔诚，虔敬 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
prudent
|
|
| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
submission
|
|
| n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
aspirations
|
|
| 强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
extinction
|
|
| n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
scriptures
|
|
| 经文，圣典( scripture的名词复数 )； 经典 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
supreme
|
|
| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
contemplate
|
|
| vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
immortal
|
|
| adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
insanity
|
|
| n.疯狂，精神错乱；极端的愚蠢，荒唐 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
plausible
|
|
| adj.似真实的，似乎有理的，似乎可信的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
writ
|
|
| n.命令状，书面命令 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
dissertation
|
|
| n.（博士学位）论文，学术演讲，专题论文 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
conjecture
|
|
| n./v.推测，猜测 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
prodigy
|
|
| n.惊人的事物，奇迹，神童，天才，预兆 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
bibliography
|
|
| n.参考书目；(有关某一专题的)书目 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
varied
|
|
| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
fully
|
|
| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
epoch
|
|
| n.(新)时代；历元 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
habitual
|
|
| adj.习惯性的；通常的，惯常的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
phenomena
|
|
| n.现象 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
conjectures
|
|
| 推测，猜想( conjecture的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
interpretations
|
|
| n.解释( interpretation的名词复数 )；表演；演绎；理解 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
interpretation
|
|
| n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
postulates
|
|
| v.假定，假设( postulate的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
eminent
|
|
| adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
frivolous
|
|
| adj.轻薄的；轻率的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
inquiries
|
|
| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
temerity
|
|
| n.鲁莽，冒失 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
speculation
|
|
| n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
demonstration
|
|
| n.表明，示范，论证，示威 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
tract
|
|
| n.传单，小册子，大片(土地或森林) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
appellation
|
|
| n.名称，称呼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
previously
|
|
| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
judgment
|
|
| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
humble
|
|
| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
determined
|
|
| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
investigations
|
|
| （正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
investigation
|
|
| n.调查，调查研究 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
controversy
|
|
| n.争论，辩论，争吵 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
dreading
|
|
| v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
meditating
|
|
| a.沉思的，冥想的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
entreat
|
|
| v.恳求，恳请 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
inclinations
|
|
| 倾向( inclination的名词复数 )； 倾斜； 爱好； 斜坡 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
celebrated
|
|
| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
treatise
|
|
| n.专著；(专题)论文 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
alleges
|
|
| 断言，宣称，辩解( allege的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
afterward
|
|
| adv.后来；以后 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
accurately
|
|
| adv.准确地，精确地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
testament
|
|
| n.遗嘱；证明 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
miserable
|
|
| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
analogous
|
|
| adj.相似的；类似的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
reign
|
|
| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
overthrew
|
|
| overthrow的过去式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
ribs
|
|
| n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
leopard
|
|
| n.豹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
spoke
|
|
| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
besieged
|
|
| 包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
copiously
|
|
| adv.丰富地，充裕地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
illustrated
|
|
| adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
ram
|
|
| (random access memory)随机存取存储器 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
saviour
|
|
| n.拯救者，救星 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
rejection
|
|
| n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
sanctuary
|
|
| n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
perplexed
|
|
| adj.不知所措的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
commentators
|
|
| n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 )；时事评论员；注释者；实况广播员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
exalted
|
|
| adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
testaments
|
|
| n.遗嘱( testament的名词复数 )；实际的证明 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
providence
|
|
| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
diligent
|
|
| adj.勤勉的，勤奋的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
conspicuous
|
|
| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
margins
|
|
| 边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
84
transcribing
|
|
| （用不同的录音手段）转录( transcribe的现在分词 )； 改编（乐曲）（以适应他种乐器或声部）； 抄写； 用音标标出（声音） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
85
paraphrase
|
|
| vt.将…释义，改写；n.释义，意义 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
86
remarkable
|
|
| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
87
psalms
|
|
| n.赞美诗( psalm的名词复数 )；圣诗；圣歌；(中的) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
88
begotten
|
|
| v.为…之生父( beget的过去分词 )；产生，引起 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
89
virgin
|
|
| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
90
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
91
martyr
|
|
| n.烈士，殉难者；vt.杀害，折磨，牺牲 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
92
corrupting
|
|
| （使）败坏( corrupt的现在分词 )； （使）腐化； 引起（计算机文件等的）错误； 破坏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
93
defenders
|
|
| n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
94
solely
|
|
| adv.仅仅，唯一地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
95
purge
|
|
| n.整肃，清除，泻药，净化；vt.净化，清除，摆脱；vi.清除，通便，腹泻，变得清洁 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
96
subsisted
|
|
| v.（靠很少的钱或食物）维持生活，生存下去( subsist的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
97
bruised
|
|
| [医]青肿的，瘀紫的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
98
prudence
|
|
| n.谨慎，精明，节俭 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
99
deity
|
|
| n.神，神性；被奉若神明的人(或物) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
100
honourable
|
|
| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
101
codicil
|
|
| n.遗嘱的附录 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
102
discourses
|
|
| 论文( discourse的名词复数 )； 演说； 讲道； 话语 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
103
annually
|
|
| adv.一年一次，每年 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
104
metropolis
|
|
| n.首府；大城市 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
105
opposition
|
|
| n.反对，敌对 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
106
folly
|
|
| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
107
atheism
|
|
| n.无神论，不信神 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
108
derived
|
|
| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
109
faculties
|
|
| n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
110
peruse
|
|
| v.细读，精读 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
111
perused
|
|
| v.读（某篇文字）( peruse的过去式和过去分词 )；（尤指）细阅；审阅；匆匆读或心不在焉地浏览（某篇文字） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
112
applied
|
|
| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
113
irresistible
|
|
| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
114
prudently
|
|
| adv. 谨慎地，慎重地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
115
queries
|
|
| n.问题( query的名词复数 )；疑问；询问；问号v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的第三人称单数 )；询问 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
116
eternity
|
|
| n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
117
deriving
|
|
| v.得到( derive的现在分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
118
innate
|
|
| adj.天生的，固有的，天赋的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
119
scattered
|
|
| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
120
query
|
|
| n.疑问，问号，质问；vt.询问，表示怀疑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
121
diffused
|
|
| 散布的，普及的，扩散的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
122
spherical
|
|
| adj.球形的；球面的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
123
lucid
|
|
| adj.明白易懂的，清晰的，头脑清楚的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
124
inexplicable
|
|
| adj.无法解释的，难理解的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
125
opaque
|
|
| adj.不透光的；不反光的，不传导的；晦涩的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
126
orb
|
|
| n.太阳；星球；v.弄圆；成球形 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
127
qualified
|
|
| adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
128
Saturn
|
|
| n.农神，土星 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
129
velocities
|
|
| n.速度( velocity的名词复数 )；高速，快速 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
130
revolve
|
|
| vi.(使)旋转；循环出现 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
131
aggregation
|
|
| n.聚合，组合；凝聚 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
132
descends
|
|
| v.下来( descend的第三人称单数 )；下去；下降；下斜 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
133
downwards
|
|
| adj./adv.向下的（地），下行的（地） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
134
diurnal
|
|
| adj.白天的，每日的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
135
rotation
|
|
| n.旋转；循环，轮流 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
136
conjectured
|
|
| 推测，猜测，猜想( conjecture的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
137
remains
|
|
| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
138
upwards
|
|
| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
139
ascend
|
|
| vi.渐渐上升，升高；vt.攀登，登上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
140
ascended
|
|
| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
141
orbs
|
|
| abbr.off-reservation boarding school 在校寄宿学校n.球，天体，圆形物( orb的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
142
ascent
|
|
| n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
143
retarded
|
|
| a.智力迟钝的，智力发育迟缓的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
144
ascending
|
|
| adj.上升的，向上的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
145
velocity
|
|
| n.速度，速率 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
146
attentive
|
|
| adj.注意的，专心的；关心(别人)的，殷勤的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
147
perusal
|
|
| n.细读，熟读；目测 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
148
perspicuity
|
|
| n.（文体的）明晰 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
149
vigour
|
|
| （=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
150
disorder
|
|
| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
151
affected
|
|
| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
152
serenity
|
|
| n.宁静，沉着，晴朗 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
153
disturbance
|
|
| n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
154
eminence
|
|
| n.卓越，显赫；高地，高处；名家 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
155
debilitated
|
|
| adj.疲惫不堪的，操劳过度的v.使（人或人的身体）非常虚弱( debilitate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
156
aberrations
|
|
| n.偏差( aberration的名词复数 )；差错；脱离常规；心理失常 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
157
paramount
|
|
| a.最重要的，最高权力的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
158
secular
|
|
| n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
159
admiration
|
|
| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
160
starry
|
|
| adj.星光照耀的, 闪亮的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
161
firmament
|
|
| n.苍穹；最高层 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
162
luminaries
|
|
| n.杰出人物，名人（luminary的复数形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
163
stationary
|
|
| adj.固定的，静止不动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
164
astronomers
|
|
| n.天文学者，天文学家( astronomer的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
165
chaos
|
|
| n.混乱，无秩序 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
166
inquiry
|
|
| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
167
incapable
|
|
| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
168
skeptical
|
|
| adj.怀疑的，多疑的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
169
luminous
|
|
| adj.发光的，发亮的；光明的；明白易懂的；有启发的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
170
unintelligible
|
|
| adj.无法了解的，难解的，莫明其妙的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
171
mighty
|
|
| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
172
peculiarities
|
|
| n. 特质, 特性, 怪癖, 古怪 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
173
immediate
|
|
| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
174
apparently
|
|
| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
175
advent
|
|
| n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
176
almighty
|
|
| adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
177
concealed
|
|
| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
178
antiquity
|
|
| n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
179
authenticity
|
|
| n.真实性 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
180
miraculous
|
|
| adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
181
poetical
|
|
| adj.似诗人的；诗一般的；韵文的；富有诗意的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
182
scruple
|
|
| n./v.顾忌，迟疑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
183
effulgent
|
|
| adj.光辉的；灿烂的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
184
expounded
|
|
| 论述，详细讲解( expound的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
185
surmounted
|
|
| 战胜( surmount的过去式和过去分词 )； 克服（困难）； 居于…之上； 在…顶上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
186
procured
|
|
| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |