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Burnet, fellow of Christ's College, communicated with Newton in relation to his forthcoming Sacred History of the Earth. Newton argued that Moses's account of Creation should be taken as true, despite the fact that Moses had to dumb down ('accommodate') his language to make it comprehensible to ordinary people. He also claimed that various mundane chemical phenomena can shed light on how God created order out of chaos.
Burnet's letter printed in NC, 2: 321-8; Newton's in Brewster (1855), 2, 447-54 and NC, 2: 329-35.
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).
in English
Bought at the Sotheby sale by Keynes for £78.
For
Mr Isaac Newton
Mathematick r
Fellow of Trinity Coll.
Cambridge
d
8