But Mr. Newton was not displeased with their flatterys nor ever yt I could hear of endeavoured to correct them. We conversed civilly as oft as we met accidentally but and he failed not (as if he were a great Master of my methods), allwayes to aske how the Catalogue went on to which I alwayes gave him sincer {sic} answers telling him how far I had proceeded & that I wanted more hands both to carry on ye Observations & calculations yt were necessary but this I could not get him to take notice of. In the mean time some freind of mine (yt was frequently in company with me & saw how ye work went on with such assistance as I hired & payd my selfe & was though informed what the charge would be of printing the Observations of 30 yeares & engraveing ye Maps of the Constellations I had prepared) acquainted Prince George of Denmarke with my ꝑformances Mr Newton lived near ye Court I, allwayes at a distance. he was then Pr. of ye R.S. & had a Great Courtier for his friend & one who was frequently at his Office required at Court & attending on the Prince so that he could not but hear of the Princes Inclinations to make me easier in my work nor could Mr. N. fayle to be informed of it so on ye 11th of Aprill 1704 he came down to Greenwich, visited me on my request stayd & dined with me, at his first comeing he desired to see what I had ready for ye presse I shewed him the books of Observations togeather with so much of the Catalogue as was then finished. which was about one halfe & a fayre copy of it. And with it ye Maps of ye Constellations drawn both by My Amanuensis {illeg} & Van Somer, which haveing lookt over carefully he desired me to let him have the recommending of them to ye prince, I was surprised at this proposition I had formerly tried his temper and allways found him insidious, ambitious \& excessively/ covetous of praise & impatient of contradiction. I had taken notice of some faults in ye 4th book of his principia which instead of thanking me for, he resented ill yet was <77> presumtuous of his Interest that he sometimes dared to ask why I did not hold my tongue. I considered that if I granted what he desired I should put my selfe wholly into his power & be at his Mercy who might spoyle all that came into his hands or put me to unnecessary trouble & vexation about my owne labors & all the while pretend that he did it to amend faults. where none were but what were unavoydable, or easily to be corrected & therefore excusable. I had further irri\ta/ted him by not concealeing some Truths that are since published \in print/ & notoriously knowne: & therefore civilly refused what hee desired but still he told me he would recommend them to ye Prince, & parted with me in ye evening with a short expression of very good advice, [1] which it would have been very happy for him if he had followed himself t'has been ye Rule of my life from my Infancy tho I doe not know yt it ever has been of his.

[1] 'Do all ye good yt lies in your power'

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Professor Rob Iliffe
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Scott Mandelbrote,
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