Catalogue Entry: THEM00096

Drafts of the 'Short Chronicle' and 'Original of Monarchies'

Author: Isaac Newton

Source: Ms. 361(1), New College Library, Oxford, UK

Contents

A. Drafts of the 'Short Chronicle' prefixed to The Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms Amended (London, 1728), some in English (one in a clerical hand) and some in Latin, c. 30,000 words in total, 85 ff.

'The Introduction' (2 pp.), on the backs of a draft letter to the Treasury about copper coinage technique (cf. Mint catalogue MINT00633 (II.356)) and a sheet of algebraic calculations and notes on the generation of organic bodies from water and on magnetic attraction.

'A short Chronicle from the first memory of things in Europe to the conquest of Persia by Alexander the great' (8 ff.)

Another draft of the above (9 ff.)

Further draft, including the 'Introduction' (12 ff.)

Clerical copy of the above with emendations by Newton (19 ff.)

Two very rough partial drafts (3 ff.)

Partial Latin draft: 'Rerum ante Imperium Romanum gestarum Chronicon parvum' (4 ff.)

Another partial Latin draft (7 ff.)

Third partial Latin draft (2 ff.)

B. Drafts of various parts of 'The Original of Monarchies' (cf. King's College, Cambridge, Keynes Ms. 146), mainly in English, c. 50,000 words, 91 ff. Preceded by three folios in Conduitt's hand, headed 'Mss of Sr Is. Newton', containing a description of the manuscript and arguments for and against publication of some or all of it, given that much of it is duplicated in the published Chronology (1728) but some of it shows significant variants.

© 2024 The Newton Project

Professor Rob Iliffe
Director, AHRC Newton Papers Project

Scott Mandelbrote,
Fellow & Perne librarian, Peterhouse, Cambridge

Faculty of History, George Street, Oxford, OX1 2RL - newtonproject@history.ox.ac.uk

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