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When Isaac was fourteen years old, his mother's second husband being now dead, she wished her son to leave school, and assist her in managing the farm at Woolsthorpe. For a year or two, therefore, he tried to turn his attention to farming. But his mind was so bent on becoming a scholar, that his mother sent him back to school, and afterwards to the University of Cambridge.
He was the first to find out the nature of Light; for, nobody could tell what the sunshine was composed of until then. You remember, I suppose, the story of an apple falling on his head which lead him to discover the force of gravitation and which keeps the heavenly bodies in their courses. When he had once got hold of this idea, he never permitted his mind to rest, until he had searched out all the laws, by which the planets were guided through the sky. This he did as thoroughly as if he had gone up among the stars, and tracked them in their orbits. As a boy, he had found out the mechanism of a windmill; and as a man he explained to his fellow-men the mechanism of the universe.
While researching he was accustomed to spend night after night in a lofty tower, gazing at the heavenly bodies through a telescope. His mind was lifted far above the things of this world. He may be said, indeed, to have spent the greater part of his life in worlds that lie thousands and millions of miles away; for where the thoughts and the heart are, there is our true existence.
Newton lived to be a very old man, renowned thinker and was made a Member of Parliament, and received the honor of knighthood from the king. But he cared little for earthly fame and honors, and felt no pride in the vastness of his knowledge. All that he had learned only made him feel how little he knew in comparison to what remained to be known.
While researching he was accustomed to spend night after night in a lofty tower, gazing at the heavenly bodies through a telescope. His mind was lifted far above the things of this world. He may be said, indeed, to have spent the greater part of his life in worlds that lie thousands and millions of miles away; for where the thoughts and the heart are, there is our true existence.
Newton lived to be a very old man, renowned thinker and was made a Member of Parliament, and received the honor of knighthood from the king. But he cared little for earthly fame and honors, and felt no pride in the vastness of his knowledge. All that he had learned only made him feel how little he knew in comparison to what remained to be known.
Explanation:
When Isaac reached \(14\) years, his mother's second husband died. She could not manage the farm in Woolsthorpe all alone, so she asked Isaac to assist her. So he had to discontinue his schooling. For one or two years, she tried to make Isaac concentrate on the farm, but he was very keen on becoming a specializing in his field of study. His mother sent him back to school, then to the University of Cambridge, one of the most prestigious universities.
He discovered the nature of light. Until then, nobody knew what sunshine was made of. All of us know the story of the apple falling on Newton's head, which made him discover the gravitational force, which held all the bodies in the universe, in its respective places. Once he had this idea, he was not able to stop thinking. He did not allow his mind to rest, and he searched all the laws governing the planets and the universe. He did a complete study as if he travelled to the stars and saw them travel in their paths. When he was young, he had discovered the techniques of a windmill; when he became older, he explained the structure of the universe.
When he was doing his studies, he had the habit of spending his nights in a tall tower, from where he saw the activities in the sky with the help of a telescope. His thinking was far ahead than the worldly things. He seemed to have spent more time in his life in studying about worlds which are millions of miles away from us. Ordinary, daily things were of no importance to him. He seemed to have truly existed millions of miles away from us because our true existence lies where our thoughts live.
Gazing at the heavenly bodies through a telescope!
Newton lived till his old age. He was known as a famous thinker, he became the Member of the Parliament, and was honoured with "knighthood" from the king. In the UK, "knighthood" refers to a man awarded a non-hereditary title in recognition of merit and entitled to use the honorific ‘Sir’ in front of his name; He was known as Sir Isaac Newton after the "knighthood" was given to him, by the king. But he did not care about fame or honours, nor did he feel proud of his vast knowledge. The more he learnt, the more he realized how little he knew, when compared to what is yet to be discovered.
Meanings of difficult words:
No. | Words | Meanings |
1 | scholar | a specialist in a specific branch of study |
2 | accustomed | usual, habitual |
3 | lofty | great height, tall |
4 | renowned | famous, known or talked about |
5 | knight | a man awarded a non-hereditary title in recognition of merit and entitled to use the honorific ‘Sir’ in front of his name |
6 | knighthood | the title, rank, or status of a knight |
Reference:
State Council of Educational Research and Training (2019). Term-2 English Standard-8. Sir Isaac Newton- The Ingenious Scientist (pp. 84-97). Published by the Tamil Nadu Textbook and Educational Services Corporation
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