Isaac Newton’s Lost Papers–And His Search for God’s Divine Plan

‘This most beautiful system ... could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful being,‘ wrote Newton.

A drawing by Isaac Newton of his telescope contained in a book of his letters is displayed next to a statue of him at the Royal Society on November 24, 2009 in London. Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

Few have had as profound an effect on modern scientific understanding as Sir Issac Newton.

Many people are familiar with the story of how a falling apple first inspired Newton to investigate the force that would come to be known as gravity, and as he later concluded in his seminal scientific treatise, “Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy,” it is this same force that pulls a fruit to ground that keeps the planets in orbit.