"It was God who breathed life into matter and inspired its many textures and processes. ...Rather than turn away from what he could not explain, he plunged in more deeply. ...There were forces in nature that he would not be able to understand mechanically, in terms of colliding billiard balls or swirling vortices. They were vital, vegetable, sexual forces—invisible forces of spirit and attraction. Later, it had been Newton, more than any other philosopher, who effectively purged science of the need to resort to such mystical qualities. For now, he needed them."
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Non-fiction authors from the United StatesBiographers from the United StatesScience authors from the United StatesJournalists from New York CityHistorians of science
Original Language: English
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James Gleick, Isaac Newton (2003)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_Gleick
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James Gleick
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