Catalogue Entry: THEM00014
Correspondence with Thomas Burnet
Custodial History
Bought at the Sotheby sale by Keynes for £78.
Sotheby Lot
SL157Contents
Holograph copy letter, Newton to Burnet, after 13 January 1680/81, in English, c. 2,750 words, 5 pp. States Newton's theory of the creation of the earth and its subsequent development, opposing a literalist interpretation of Genesis and insisting that Moses adapted his account to make it comprehensible to 'the gross conception of the vulgar'.
Original letter from Burnet to Newton (to which the above is a reply), 13 January 1680/81, in English, c. 3,000 words, 7 pp. In this letter Burnet acknowledges receipt of a letter from Newton dated 'Dec. 24th' (no longer extant).
Related Material
Burnet's letter printed in NC, 2: 321-8; Newton's in Brewster (1855), 2, 447-54 and NC, 2: 329-35.
