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Antiquitas non fingo : Newton, the Moderns and the Science of Ancient History
Author(s) -
Mattana Alessio
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal for eighteenth‐century studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.129
H-Index - 11
eISSN - 1754-0208
pISSN - 1754-0194
DOI - 10.1111/1754-0208.12726
Subject(s) - chronology , natural history , kingdom , history of science , natural philosophy , history , philosophy , history of physics , classics , literature , art , archaeology , epistemology , paleontology , geology , theoretical physics , physics , biology , botany
In his posthumous The Chronology of the Ancient Kingdoms Amended (1728) Isaac Newton re‐dated a number of significant events in ancient history, most importantly the Argonautic expedition and the Fall of Troy. This article explores the eighteenth‐century reception of the Chronology as a text contiguous with Newton's previous works on natural philosophy. In particular, it will be argued that the Chronology was considered as proof that the moderns had made history into a scientific discipline based on principles like those delineated in Newton's Principia .