Why? You endeavoured to embroil me with weomen…

Here’s a post about an episode in the life of Sir Isaac Newton which I first came across when reading about Samuel Pepys. Many assume that Newton’s behaviour was a result of mental illness on his part, but that’s by no means clear. I can think of many possible reasons why he might have acted the way he did, including that he just found the behaviour of other people too perplexing…

corpusnewtonicum's avatarCorpus Newtonicum

Why. It is a word that I frequently entertain when I study Isaac Newton. There is no scientist about whom so much is written, yet I feel that we only know so little about the man. Most Newton biographers provide us with detailed descriptions of his life and works, using the abundance of source materials available: Newton’s correspondence, descriptions by himself and others of various episodes of his life, Trinity College and Cambridge University attendance records, and so on. Every biographer, in his own way, tries to understand some of the more poignant moments in Newton’s life. Likewise, many struggle.

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4 Responses to “Why? You endeavoured to embroil me with weomen…”

  1. telescoper's avatar
    telescoper Says:

    Fellows of Cambridge colleges were not allowed to marry in Newton’s time. This didn’t change until 1860.

    • Anton Garrett's avatar
      Anton Garrett Says:

      There was a mistresses’ enclave at Ely, just outside the jurisdictional range of the university police, and a rash of marriages soon after dons were permitted to marry. But too late for George Green and his lady.

  2. telescoper's avatar
    telescoper Says:

    No idea on that, but the nature of his relationship with Fatio, though close, wasn’t necessarily sexual.

    I’m not even convinced that Shakespeare’s sonnets – most of which relate to a very close and loving friendship between a young man and an older one – are about a sexual relationship. They may be, if course, but it’s far from obvious.

  3. Anton Garrett's avatar
    Anton Garrett Says:

    Isn’t it more likely to relate to a diphthong than an umlaut?

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