Beschreibung:

NEWTON, ISAAC Autograph manuscript notes on the Great Pyramid of Egypt, ancient units of measurement, and Biblical prophecy, probably c.1680s: (i) [recto] Notes on dimensions of the Great Pyramid, beginning ("Arabica Ipse Greavius..."), making use of J. Greaves, Pyramidographia, calculating the royal cubit ("Cubiti Regii") as one-hundredth of the width of the pyramid, and showing that the dimensions of entrances, tunnels and chambers were all planned in royal cubits, 38 lines, Latin, with extensive revisions and corrections; [verso] note on Greaves's calculation of the Roman foot and a comparative list of ancient and modern measures, also drawn from Greaves's work, including the Parisian foot, Rhineland foot, Venetian foot, Attic foot, Egyptian (royal) cubit and measures used in Rome, Turkey, Persia, and elsewhere, 38 lines, Latin, with corrections and revisions; single leaf, 192 x 155mm (ii) [recto] Notes on the royal cubit and other ancient units of measurement, followed by calculations on the dimensions of the Great Pyramid, its proportions and ratios, and further notes on the stepped shape of the pyramid's exterior ("...[th]ey diminish neither in the breadth of all alike. But tis proportional to the height of each so that a right line from top to bottom will touch the outward angle of each...") and dimensions of chambers and galleries, 34 lines, English and Latin, with, written from the bottom, notes on ancient measures, including the ancient Olympic stade (stadium), the Attic and Roman foot ("...Rom. foot to Attic foot as 25 to 24 Philander in l[iber] 3 c 3..."), the Hebrew (Sacred) cubit, and the relative antiquity of ancient measures deriving from Hercules and Moses, 16 lines, Latin and English; [verso] address panel ("For Mr Isaacke Newton | a Fellow at Trinity | Colledg | at Cambridg"), and mathematical calculations, and with remains of red wax seals; single leaf, 238 x 190mm (iii) [recto] Notes on the dimensions in cubits of the interior galleries and chambers of the Great Pyramid, with notes on the Egyptian (royal) cubit and other measures drawn from Herodotus and other sources, 38 lines, one correction, in English, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew; [verso] reading notes on the analogy of Biblical prophecies, especially those of Daniel and John ("...wisedome to contrive prophesies so that one should be a key to another [... if] any prophesies be relative then surely Daniel & John to each other, [...] resemble one another so much & if they be relative in any thing then [...] in their main joynts..."), with additional advice on rhetorical method ("...Soft words & hard argument soonest overcome an adversary & offend no sort of f[riend] Exasperating words usually beget that like [...] never do good to a mans cause or credit..."), 16 lines, in English, with notes on different ancient measures and citing various sources written down the side, 32 lines, Latin and Greek; single leaf, 190 x 155mm All three leaves have suffered fire damage with loss of paper and text at the edges, and have been expertly conserved and stabilised Newton was not the first of the age of reason, he was the last of the magicians. - John Maynard Keynes ISAAC NEWTON ON THE GREAT PYRAMID. The pyramids at Giza are not just the greatest architectural marvels that survive of the ancient world: to Newton, as to many others, they were a key that could unlock profound secrets. The Great Pyramid could help him glean an understanding of Biblical prophecy; it could lead him to a knowledge of the timing of the Apocalypse; he also is likely to have hoped that it could provide the proof for his Theory of Gravity. Newton was certainly not alone in believing that the ancient Egyptians had access to profound knowledge that was lost to the modern world. The searching out of ancient occult secrets was a central trope of alchemy, a subject which Newton studied deeply. These notes reveal Newton seeking out an underlying structure to the pyramid: the unit of measurement used by