He was necessarily extremely cautious in the articulation of his philosophical ideas, as denial of the Christian Trinity was still illegal in Britain until 1813. However as he gained in stature through the recognition of his scientific achievements, he was able to become more venturesome in the expression of his thoughts. In the General Scholium to his Principia Mathematica, Newton felt confident enough to insert a brief summary of some of his religious philosophy, which can be seen to have much in common with Stoicism, and hence with Pantheism:
“...God... is omnipresent not virtually only, but also substantially; for virtue cannot exist without substance. In Him are all things contained and moved... This was the opinion of the ancients. So -
• Pythagoras, in Cicero De Natura Deorum
• Thales
• Anaxagoras
• Virgil Georgics iv 220, and Aeneid vi 721
• Philo Allegories at the beginning of Book 1
• Aratus in his Phænomena, at the beginning
So also the sacred writers: as
• St. Paul, in Acts 17.27, 28
• St. John’s Gospel, 14.2
• Moses in Deuteronomy, 4.39; and 10.14.
• David in Psalms 139.7, 8, 9
• Solomon in Kings 8.27
• Job 22.12,13,14
• Jeremiah 23.23, 24...
[refer pages 9 and 27]
[refer page 22]
[refer page 30] [refer page 48]
“...It is allowed by all that the Supreme God exists necessarily; and by the same necessity he exists always and everywhere...”
He was necessarily extremely cautious in the articulation of his philosophical ideas, as denial of the Christian Trinity was still illegal in Britain until 1813. However as he gained in stature through the recognition of his scientific achievements, he was able to become more venturesome in the expression of his thoughts. In the General Scholium to his Principia Mathematica, Newton felt confident enough to insert a brief summary of some of his religious philosophy, which can be seen to have much in common with Stoicism, and hence with Pantheism:
“...God... is omnipresent not virtually only, but also substantially; for virtue cannot exist without substance. In Him are all things contained and moved... This was the opinion of the ancients. So -
• Pythagoras, in Cicero De Natura Deorum
• Thales
• Anaxagoras
• Virgil Georgics iv 220, and Aeneid vi 721
• Philo Allegories at the beginning of Book 1
• Aratus in his Phænomena, at the beginning
So also the sacred writers: as
• St. Paul, in Acts 17.27, 28
• St. John’s Gospel, 14.2
• Moses in Deuteronomy, 4.39; and 10.14.
• David in Psalms 139.7, 8, 9
• Solomon in Kings 8.27
• Job 22.12,13,14
• Jeremiah 23.23, 24...
[refer pages 9 and 27]
[refer page 22]
[refer page 30] [refer page 48]
“...It is allowed by all that the Supreme God exists necessarily; and by the same necessity he exists always and everywhere...”
Principia Mathematica