ABSTRACT
The dissertation, narrowed down to the religious ideas of English scientists of the late seventeenth century, aroused in a fascination with the history of science, which has never waned. If optics, mechanics, and mathematics are several different enterprises, at least they are all related to the basic endeavors of modern science. The ultimate problem of studying Newton lies in his other activities. Isaac Newton’s theology had served to introduce to the man, but over the years the problem underwent a profound change. When Newton moved to London, the Royal Society was in a state of decline not many steps removed from dissolution. For a number of years it had followed the practice of electing as president prominent governmental officials, who gladly accepted the prestige but paid no heed to the society’s affairs as it slid steadily toward oblivion.
