Note 50 — Chapter II · The Inductive Epoch of Newton.—Discovery of the Universal Gravitation of Matter, according to the Law of the Inverse Square of the Distance.

In the same strain we find the general voice of the time. For instance, one of Loggan’s “Views of Cambridge” is dedicated “Isaaco Newtono . . Mathematico, Physico, Chymico consummatissimo; nec minus suavitate morum et candore animi . . . spectabili.” In opposition to the general current of such testimony, we have the complaints of Flamsteed, who ascribes to Newton angry language and harsh conduct in the matter of the publication of the Greenwich Observations, and of Whiston. Yet even Flamsteed speaks well of his general disposition. Whiston was himself so weak and prejudiced that his testimony is worth very little.