One week ago, Thursday, March 24, 2011, I was treated to something that was very special. I visited the Burns Library at BC so that I could have a look at Sir Isaac Newton's Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica. I knew this work had been added to their collections last year. It was no longer on exhibit, but the librarian had it taken out of storage for me, sat me down at a table, and handed me a pair of white cotton gloves. I was free to leaf through this book. It was from the original edition of 250, published in 1687.
The book consists of three volumes, and this was the first volume, a dark brown color. As I turned each page, I wondered if Isaac Newton himself might have handled this book. My high school Latin served me fairly well as I tried to get the drift of what he was saying. There were a lot of geometrical illustrations throughout the book. There's a large section where he's discussing Halley's Comet, and I believe he was referring to areas where it had been known to pass because I saw mention of -- believe it or not -- New England (Nova Anglia), Boston (Bostoniense), and Cambridge (Cantabrigia). So even Sir Isaac Newton had heard about us.
I spent half an hour looking through it and felt lucky to be able to do this. I also hoped that, somehow, some of his understandings might get through to me!
