1 ON THE GENIUS AND DISCOVERIES OF SIR ISAAC NEWTON

We are this evening assembled to receive at the hands of the noble Patron of this Institution, the bust of our illustrious countryman, Sir Isaac Newton.
1
On such an occasion it seems not inappropriate to devote a short time to the contemplation of the mind and character of that gifted individual. Through the partiality of friends, I have been requested to prepare an address on the genius and discoveries of Newton. In meeting this wish, I cannot but feel conscious of my own incompetency to do justice to so great a theme. It would not be difficult, indeed, to collect such materials as might afford a connected view of his life; or, if from popular anecdotes it were required to form an estimate of his character, the task would be easy, for with such the world has been abundantly supplied. Our present business is rather with the mind of Newton; and if, as the humblest of his disciples, I shall be thought to have succeeded in showing what were indeed the characteristics of that powerful mind, my end will be answered; or, failing in the attempt, I may hope for some measure of indulgence, when it is considered how vast a subject I have undertaken.