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& the book commonly laying before him & which he read often at last was a duodecimo bible I found his eyes bloodshod one morning & he complained something swam before his eyes & when I asked him what he thought had occasioned that disorder he said he believed that he had overstrained the optick nerves for the morning or two last past he had waked before the sun was quite up & had endeavoured to see what a clock it was on his {wat{ch}} by a very little light that came thro the curtain & shutter upon which he left that off & found out the hour by feeling the hand & his eyes soon recov{ered} at one time he had thought so intensely on the sun & looked so much on the body of it to make his observations that for some time it appeared constantly before his eyes – He wrote small but very distinct & legible hand & to the last his hand was very steady —

Had voided two stones broken – together as big as a pea – 3 years ago

Came to town perfectly well told me the 1st of March — the sunday before he had slept from 11. to 8 – his great fatigue in town brought his distemper upon him – he was ill on the friday following being 3d – continued so – I not hear{ing} till Saturday the 11. sent Mead & Cheselden – stone in bladder he seemed easier on Wednesday – 15 & wee had some hopes – but he grew worse & weaker & weaker on Friday a violent looseness – his senses perfectly on Saturday 18 – a long discourse with Dr Mead – that evening grew weak{er} & all Sunday was quite insensible & seemed to be quiet & free fom pain – on Monday the 20th at 1 – in the morning he died without any appearance of pain —–

made no necessities

patient thought

Philosophy less mischeivous

day Oliver died measure force of wind by jumping with & against it

use legs have legs —–

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handiness —– Earl Pembroke's {song} have legs & use legs – day Oliver died – tried —

Morality of Socrates – knowledge of Pythagoras Story of Socrates standing in the market place 24 – hours {distrait}

His furnace at Cambridge preserved religiously & shewn to strangers —

Story of Caton the joiner at Cambridge who made a square hollow piece of wood nine foot deep filled with water, glasses at distance let fall balls of wax – Sir Isaac at bottom looking glass broke – wonder being very thick – Caton you do not know the force of water —

© 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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