Newton's character has been attempt ed by Mr. Fontenelle and Dr. Pemberton, the substance of which is as follows. He was of a middle stature, and somewhat in clined to be fat in the latter part of his life. His countenance was pleasing and venerable at the same time, especially when he took off his peruke, and shewed his white hair, which was pretty thick. He never made use of spectacles,and lost but one tooth during his whole life. Bishop Atterbury says, that in the whole air of Sir Isaac's face and make there was nothing of that penetrating sagacity which appears in his compositions; that he had something rather languid in his look and manner, which did not raise any great ex pectation in those who did not know him.
His temper, it is said, was so equal and mild, that no accident could disturb it; a remarkable instance of which is related as follows : Sir Isaac had a favourite little dog, which he called Diamond. Being one day called out of his study into the next room, Diamond was left behind. When Sir Isaac returned, having Veen absent but a few minutes, he had the mor tification to find that, Diamond having overset a lighted candle among some pa pers, the nearly finished labour of many years was in flames, and almost consumed to ashes. This loss, as Sir Isaac was then very far advanced in years, was irretrieva ble ; yet, without once striking the dog, he only rebuked him with this exclama tion : " 0 ! Diamond! Diamond ! thou little knowest the mischief thou halt done !" He was indeed of so meek and gentle a disposition, and so great a lover of peace, that he would rather have chosen to re main in obscurity, than to have the calm of life ruffled by those storms and dis putes which genius and learning always draw upon those that are most eminent for them.
From his love of peace, no doubt, arose that unusual kind of horror which he felt for all disputes; a steady unbroken attention, free from those frequent recoil ings inseparably incident to others, was his peculiar felicity ; he knew it, and he knew the value of it. No wonder then that controversy was looked on as his bane. When some objections, hastily made to his discoveries concerning light and colours, induced him to lay aside the design he had taken of publishing his op tical lectures, we find him reflecting on that dispute, into which he had been un avoidably drawn, in these terms : "I blamed my own imprudence, for parting with so real a blessinf as my quiet to run after a shadow." It is true this shadow, as Fontenelle observes, did not escape him afterwards, nor did it cost him that quiet which he so much valued, but proved as much a real happiness to him as his quiet itself; yet this was a happi ness of his own making: he took a reso lution from these disputes, not to publish any more concerning that theory, till he had put it above the reach of controversy, by the exactest experiments, and the strictest demonstrations; and according ly it has never been called in question since. In the same temper, after he had sent the manuscript to the Royal Society, with his consent to the printing of it by them, yet upon nook's injuriously insist ing that he himself had demonstrated Kepler's problem before our author, he determined, rather than be again involved in a controversy, to suppress the third book ; and lie was very hardly prevailed upon to alter that resolution. It is true
the public was thereby a gainer ; that book, which is indeed no more than a co rollary of some propositions in the first, being originally drawn up in the popular way, with a design to publish it in that form; whereas he was now convinced that it would be best not to let it go abroad without a strict demonstration.
In contemplating his genius, it present ly becomes a doubt which of these endow ments had the greatest share, sagacity, penetration, strength, or diligence ; and after all, the mark that seems most to dis tinguish it is, that he himself made the justest estimation of it, declaring, that if he had done the world any service, it was due to nothing but industry and patient thought ; that he kept the subject of con sideration constantly before him, and wait ed till the first dawning opened gradual 17, by little and little, into a full and clear light. It is said that, when he had any mathematical problems or solutions in his mind, he would never quit the subject on any account. And his servant has said, when he has been getting up in a morn ing, be has sometimes begun to dress, and with one leg in his breeches, sat down again on the bed, where he has remained for hours before he has got his clothes on: and that dinner has been often three hours ready for him before he could be brought to table. Upon this head several little anecdotes are related; among which is the following. Dr. Stukely coming in ac cidentally one day, when Newton's dinner was left for him upon the table, covered up, as usual, to keep it warm till he could find it convenient to come to table ; the doctor, lifting the cover, found under it a chicken, which he presently ate, putting the bones in the dish, and replacing the cover. Some time after Newton came into the room, and, after the usual com pliments, sat down to his dinner; hut on taking up the cover, and seeing only the bones of the fowl left, lie observed, with some little surprise, "1 thought 1 had not dined, but I now find that I have." After all, notwithstanding his anxious care to avoid every occasion of breaking his intense application to study, he was at a great distance from being steeped in philosophy. On the contrary, he could lay aside his thoughts, though engaged in the most intricate researches, when his other affairs required his attention ; and, as soon as he had leisure, resume the sub ject at the point where he had left off. This he seems to have done, not so much by any extraordinary strength of memory, as by the force of his inventive faculty, to which every thing opened itself again with ease, if nothing intervened to ruffle hits. The readiness of his invention made him not think of putting his memory much to the trial ; but this was the offspring of a vigorous intenseness of thought, out of which he was but a common man. He spent, therefore, the prime of his age in those abstruse researches, when his situa tion in a college gave him leisure, and while study was his proper business But as soon as he was removed to the Mint, he applied himself chiefly to the duties of that office ; and so far quitted mathema tics and philosophy, as not to engage in any pursuits of either kind afterwards.