Newton's unusual - or even downright heretical - religious opinions were well known to a number of his contemporaries. For over two centuries the exact nature of his religious beliefs was a matter of intense debate, but by the middle of the nineteenth century it was public knowledge that he had held highly unorthodox conceptions of the Trinity. Until the early 1970s, very few of Newton's private theological researches had been made publicly available, and scholars did not determine his views with any precision. However, in the last few years millions of words from his previously unpublished religious writings have become publicly available, making it possible to offer a considered account of their content, and to assess what they tell us about the man.
In Priest of Nature, Newton scholar Rob Iliffe does just that. Tracing Newton's life from his birth though his years as a Cambridge don, his tenure as Warden and Master of the Mint, and his twenty-four years as President of the Royal Society, up to his death in 1727, Iliffe examines how Newton managed the complex boundaries between private and public professions of belief. While previous scholars and biographers have attempted to find coherence in his intellectual pursuits, Iliffe shows how wide-ranging and catholic Newton's views and interests in fact were, and in that takes issue with those who have attempted to underestimate their range and complexity.
Arguing that there is no simplistic coherence between Newton's philosophical and religious views, Priest of Nature delves into the religious writings Newton produced during his life, from his account of the sexually depraved lives of the early monks to his views about the creation of the world and the Apocalypse, and his commitment to a simple (anti-Trinitarian) doctrine that he believed had been corrupted in the first centuries of Christianity. Iliffe argues that religious commitments lay at the heart of Newton's earliest scientific research, and shows how his analysis of the techniques he used to prosecute corrupters of Christian doctrine were identical to those he used when dealing with his scientific enemies. Ultimately, Priest of Nature asserts, Newton's ambitious engagement with a tradition central to Western thought displays the same creative energy visible in his mathematical and scientific work, and despite his reluctance to follow any specific sect, he should be seen as a devout layman who made independence of thought a core virtue.
Offering novel insights into the spiritual life of Newton, Priest of Nature is both a scholarly work and a vibrant biography of one of the most influential scientists in history.
Rob Iliffe is Professor of History of Science at Oxford, Co-Director of the Oxford Centre for the History of Science, Medicine and Technology, a General Editor of the online Newton Project, and the author of Newton: A Very Short Introduction.
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读完这本书,我有一种被某种古老而强大的力量所震撼的感觉。叙事手法极其大胆和创新,作者似乎并不满足于线性的时间叙述,而是巧妙地运用了多重叙事视角和穿插的回忆片段,这不仅丰富了故事的层次感,更让整个情节的迷雾层层剥开时,那种豁然开朗的惊喜感被最大化了。我尤其欣赏作者对“边缘群体”的关注和刻画,那些生活在社会结构缝隙中的个体,他们的视角往往能揭示出主流叙事所忽略的真实与残酷。笔触极为精准,在描写人物的心理活动时,那种如同外科手术般冷静而透彻的剖析,让人不得不佩服作者的洞察力。有时候,我会停下来,回味某些对白,它们简单却蕴含深意,如同箴言一般,值得反复咀嚼。这本书的阅读体验并非全然轻松,它要求读者投入极大的注意力去梳理那些看似错综复杂的线索,但一旦沉浸其中,那种探索未知的乐趣,是其他许多作品无法比拟的。它挑战了我的既有认知,迫使我重新审视一些既定的观念。
评分老实说,我一开始对这样一部设定略显复杂的作品抱持着一丝谨慎。但很快,我的担忧就被彻底打消了。作者构建的世界观拥有惊人的内在逻辑和一致性,尽管充满了奇幻元素,但其运作的规则却如同精密的机械一般清晰可靠,这极大地增强了故事的可信度。角色的成长弧线处理得极其真实自然,没有突兀的“开挂”或莫名其妙的转变,每一个进步或退化,都建立在坚实的事件基础之上。我欣赏书中对“代价”的深入探讨,任何伟大的成就或力量的获取,都必然伴随着相应的牺牲,这种对等交换的原则,让故事的基调显得沉稳而厚重。那些配角也同样光彩照人,他们并非故事的附属品,而是拥有自己独立世界的个体,他们的故事线往往能提供一个全新的观察角度。阅读过程中,我数次因为情节的巧妙衔接而拍案叫绝,作者的布局之深远,非同一般。
评分这是一部需要沉下心来品味的杰作。它的魅力不在于表面的喧嚣,而在于其深厚的文化底蕴和对人性复杂性的挖掘。作者似乎对历史和哲学有着广泛的涉猎,并将这些知识巧妙地融入到虚构的叙事之中,使得整部作品散发着一种经久不衰的魅力。书中对于“信仰”与“怀疑”之间微妙关系的探讨,尤其触动了我。主人公们在面对未知和不确定性时的挣扎与坚持,非常具有代入感。相较于许多追求速度感的现代小说,这部作品的叙事节奏是舒缓而有力的,它更像是一幅徐徐展开的史诗画卷,需要你驻足欣赏每一处精妙的笔触。即便是那些看似不重要的场景或对话,回头再看,也会发现它们是埋设在后面的重要伏笔。它成功地营造了一种既古典又现代的氛围,是一部值得被反复阅读和研究的佳作,每一次重读,都会有新的感悟。
评分这部作品给我留下的印象极为深刻,简直是一场感官的盛宴。作者在构建世界观上的匠心独运令人叹为观止,每一个细节都仿佛经过精心打磨,闪烁着独特的光芒。我特别欣赏他对环境描写的细腻程度,那种将文字化为影像的功力,让读者仿佛真的能闻到泥土的芬芳,感受到清晨薄雾的微凉。故事的节奏把握得恰到好处,时而如涓涓细流般缓缓推进,引人入胜地铺陈人物的内心世界;时而又骤然加速,爆发出令人窒息的冲突与转折,让人手不释卷,恨不得一口气读完。人物塑造更是出彩,他们不再是扁平的符号,而是有着复杂的动机和真实的挣扎,他们的选择牵动着我的情绪,让我时而为之欢欣鼓舞,时而又为他们的困境而深感忧虑。这本书探讨的主题虽然宏大,却通过一个个具体而鲜活的故事展现出来,使得那些深刻的哲学思考变得触手可及,而不是空泛的说教。可以说,这本书成功地在娱乐性和思想性之间架起了一座坚实的桥梁,读完之后,我的脑海中仍旧回荡着那些场景和对话,久久不能平息。
评分这本书的语言风格简直是一场华丽的冒险。如果说有些作品的文字是朴实的工具,那么这部作品的文字本身就是一件精美的艺术品。句式变化丰富多样,从简洁有力的短句到绵长迂回的长句,作者像一位技艺高超的指挥家,控制着读者的呼吸和心跳。我尤其钟爱作者对于象征手法的运用,那些反复出现的事物或意象,并非仅仅是装饰,它们是推动情节发展和暗示人物命运的关键符码,初读时或许只觉其美,细品之下方知其深。情节的张力处理得极好,高潮迭起的战斗场面紧张刺激,而那些相对平静的段落,又充满了内在的张力,仿佛暴风雨前的宁静,让人屏息以待。它没有急于给出所有答案,而是留下了足够的空间让读者自己去填充和解读,这种“留白”的处理,使得作品的生命力得以延续。总而言之,这是一次酣畅淋漓的阅读体验,文字的魅力远超我最初的预期。
评分十分详细的Biographical study. 前半部分可能因为牛顿的biographies已经被吃的很透了略显无聊. 历史部分和炼金术/神秘主义部分也有Frank Manuel 和 William Newman的研究在前,加上没有脚注,感觉更像是给大众的科普读物…
评分十分详细的Biographical study. 前半部分可能因为牛顿的biographies已经被吃的很透了略显无聊. 历史部分和炼金术/神秘主义部分也有Frank Manuel 和 William Newman的研究在前,加上没有脚注,感觉更像是给大众的科普读物…
评分十分详细的Biographical study. 前半部分可能因为牛顿的biographies已经被吃的很透了略显无聊. 历史部分和炼金术/神秘主义部分也有Frank Manuel 和 William Newman的研究在前,加上没有脚注,感觉更像是给大众的科普读物…
评分十分详细的Biographical study. 前半部分可能因为牛顿的biographies已经被吃的很透了略显无聊. 历史部分和炼金术/神秘主义部分也有Frank Manuel 和 William Newman的研究在前,加上没有脚注,感觉更像是给大众的科普读物…
评分十分详细的Biographical study. 前半部分可能因为牛顿的biographies已经被吃的很透了略显无聊. 历史部分和炼金术/神秘主义部分也有Frank Manuel 和 William Newman的研究在前,加上没有脚注,感觉更像是给大众的科普读物…
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