According to the economist John Maynard Keynes, Sir Isaac Newton "was not the first of the age of reason, he was the last of the magicians". Of course, had Keynes been able to foresee the Noughties banking crisis he would have known that the magicians have survived well into the age of reason, if we have yet arrived at this.Newton himself was much concerned with prophesying the end of the world, which he did not anticipate before 2060. This should reassure people who think it may be going to happen next Saturday (21st May) or in 2012. He was also much taken up with the subject of alchemy and other occult studies, to which I shall be returning in a future post.
There is an excellent wikipedia entry for "Isaac Newton's occult studies" which provides comprehensive coverage of his biblical and alchemical research, together with other material and helpful links.
