thing at the same time. The
history of science is now full of such instances; but then the friends
of each accused the other of plagiarism.

I will not go into the controversy: it is painful and useless. It only
served to embitter the later years of two great men, and it continued
long after Newton's death--long after both their deaths. It can hardly
be called ancient history even now.

But fame brought other and less unpleasant distractions than
controversies. We are a curious, practical, and rather stupid people,
and our one idea of honouring a man is to _vote_ for him in some way or
other; so they sent Newton to Parliament. He went, I believe, as a Whig,
but it is not recorded that he spoke. It is, in fact, recorded that he
was once expected to speak when on a Royal Commission about some
question of chronometers, but that he would not. However, I dare say he
made a good average member.

Then a little later it was realized that Newton was poor, that he still
had to teach for his livelihood, and that though the Crown had continued
his fellowship to him as Lucasian Professor without the necessity of
taking orders, yet it was rather disgraceful that he should not be
better off. So an appeal was made to the Government on his behalf, and
Lord Halifax, who exerted himself strongly in the matter, succeeding to
office on the accession of William III., was able to make him ultimately
Master of the Mint, with a salary of some L1,200 a year. I believe he
made rather a good Master, and turned out excellent coins: certainly he
devoted his attention to his work there in a most exemplary manner.

But what a pitiful business it all is! Here is a man sent by Heaven to
do certain things which no man else could do, and so long as he is
comparatively unknown he does them; but so soon as he is found out, he
is clapped into a routine office with a big salary: and there is,
comparatively speaking, an end of him. It is not to be supposed that he
had lost his power, for he frequently solved problems very quickly which
had been given out by great Continental mathematicians as a challenge to
the world.

We may ask why Newton allowed himself to be thus bandied about instead
of settling himself down to the work in which he was so pre-eminently
great. Well, I expect your truly great man never realizes how great he
is, and seldom knows where his real strength lies. Certainly Newton did
not know it. He several times talks of giving up philosoph