experiments; the vast acumen necessary to produce so stupendous a work. who can sufficiently admire his unraveling the mysterious nature of light, or the sun beams, consisting of different, & all kinds of colors, specific to each ray, & the analogy of thir proportions to that of the number, & nature of the notes in musick! so harmonious are the works of the divine creator! but sure of all things that ever were committed to writing, this book of optics deserves our most grateful praise, & acknowledgment of his surprizing capacity.
I have heard, that he had gone considerable lengths in his experiments on sounds, which doubtless he would have brought to as great perfection as his optics. but they say, he left it off, when he came to live in London; as well as his intense study in general. we may discern without difficulty, that nothing was too difficult for his enterprizing genius, his application, his quicksighted apprehension. we are sure of this, from what he has done. while we admire at that, we at the same time admire, that he has done so much; at his strength of nature, as well as strength of parts.
& this leads us to recite a story, that gave him a character he sought not for, that of a prophet.
in the year 1667 when the Dutch beat our fleet at the mouth of the Thames in a perfidious manner: whilst our indolent monarch was treating with them without stipulating a cessation of arms, they came up the river with a great fleet & burnt many of our ships: and did us great damage. their guns were heard as far as Cambridg, and the cause was well known, but the event was only cognisable to Sir Isaac's sagacity, who boldly pronounc'd that they had beaten us. the news soon confirm'd it. & the curious would not be easy whilst Sr. Isaac satisfy'd them of the mode of his intelligence, which was this. by carefully attending to the sound, he found it grew louder & louder, consequently came nearer. from whence he rightly infer'd that the Dutch were victors.
whilst he lived at Cambridg, his mother dyed at Stamford in 1689. She went thither on a visit to her son Benjamin Smith. her body was brought to Colsterworth, & buryed in the north isle of the church, where this family were generally interr'd.
