SACRAL VISUAL SYMBOLS IN ISAAC NEWTON’S HISTORIOGRAPHY
DOI: 10.23951/2312-7899-2019-3-135-155
The purpose of this work is 1) to analyse the features of the content and style of historiographical works of the English philosopher, scientist and theologian Isaac Newton, connected with the sacred symbolism; and 2) to find out the place and role of sacred symbols in the civilisation theory of the thinker. This study of Sir Isaac Newton’s understanding of Biblical symbolism is based on the analysis of his unpublished manuscripts from the Library of King’s College (Cambridge), Library of New College (Oxford), National Library of Israel (Jerusalem), Babson Library Collection in California. The principles and techniques of hermeneutic, historical philosophical, linguistic and structural analysis were used to achieve the task of the paper. As a result of our research, it is found out that in forming his civilisation theory Newton used a complex of prisca sapientia (ancient wisdom) ideas. According to Newton, physicochemical and cosmological ideas reflecting the unity and completeness of the material world and expressed in the notions of the Universe, Galaxy, Solar system, harmony of the aggregate states of matter and their mutual transformation, can serve as the basis of our understanding the ways of the ancient civilisation development. It is revealed that, according to Newton, when the ancient Greeks and later Romans learned the knowledge of prisca sapientia from the Ægyptians, they perceived and re-interpreted the Old Testament biblical visual symbols. Thus, the Prytanæum architectural, cosmological and cultural-sacred tradition arose, that was based on the architectural hieroglyphs of the structure of the Universe. In his historiographical manuscripts, Newton proves the advantage of the Jewish religious and cultural tradition and its chronological precedence over the antique and ancient Eastern ones. It is assumed that complex and obscure style as well as rather rough philological stylistics of the Newtonian historiographical works may be caused by the two reasons. First, Newton wrote his historiographical compositions in a private manner, preferring never to publish them, therefore the texts of these works represent merely drafts, sketches, rather than finished scientific papers. Second, Newton made an attempt (conscious or unconscious) to copy the inspired style of many ancient representatives of the prisca sapientia tradition, e. g., Old Testament prophets, Ægyptian priests, Chaldean oracles (sages), Persian Magi, and Indian Brahmans.
Keywords: Newton, symbol, symbolism, sacral sign, Biblical symbolism, hermeneutics, semiotics, architectural symbol, architectural hieroglyph, Christian non-canonical sermon, literary sermon, Christian homiletics, religious scientific homiletics, historiography
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Issue: 3, 2019
Series of issue: Issue 3
Rubric: ARTICLES
Pages: 135 — 155
Downloads: 913