Thanks to a blogger named Adam Palmer and a link to his blog that I found this morning over at Internet Monk, I have come into possession of a fascinating list.
In 1662, when he was a 19-year-old student at Trinity College, Cambridge, Isaac Newton wrote in his notebook a list of 57 sins he had recently committed -- 48 before Whitsunday, and 9 since.
I urge each of you to read the list, and then “consider thyself, lest thou also be tempted” (Galatians 6:1, King James Version).
I’m just kidding, but only sort of.
The moral of today’s post is this:
Never lie about a louse, or use someone else’s towel, or even think of doing something untoward in a kimnel.
No. 44 seems to be the worst one to me.
ReplyDeleteEducational stuff. I had to look it it up to find out that he was calling Dorothy Rose a 'mare' when he referred to her as a 'jade'.
ReplyDeleteAnd that brass halfe crown was a substantial counterfeit - £237 or $375 at today's value based on average earnings.
Oh I love this :) Super !!!
ReplyDeleteBut Carolina, why is No. 44 (striking Arthur Storer) worse than No. 24 (punching my sister) or, say, No. 15 (striking many)?
ReplyDeleteSh. Prts., I had to look kimnel up; that was a new one on me.
Lady in B.C. , glad you liked it! We do aim to please and are chagrined when we don't (please, I mean, not aim).
The list has made me think about people who achieve Great THings for the betterment of humanity. Many are obsessive, anti-social, self-absorbed, unreliable, etc. Do you think we (society) should overlook some of these traits in them, because of the achievement(s)?
ReplyDeleteDo you think God does?
Katherine, I would say "Absolutely" and "Absolutely (at least, I hope so)" to your questions.
ReplyDeleteThat's so strange, I wonder why he wrote his sins on a list.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the interesting post though. :)
What about masturbation? Is that what he meant by "relapse"?
ReplyDeleteBut how is a judgement made about whether someone's achievements are worthy enough for their sins to be overlooked... ?
ReplyDeleteFor example, Is writing a book or keeping pretend sheep in a city garden enough of an achievement to overlook the use of the word 'masturbation' on a family blog comment box?
Philosophical Christian, perhaps if we all wrote our sins on a list and wore them around our necks there would be less smugness in the world and a bit more humility. However, some people would become quite proud of their lists, I suspect.
ReplyDeleteY.P., rather than deleting your comment I am going to leave it there for all to see and direct your attention to Katherine's comment following yours.
Katherine, having now had the benefit of understanding your previous question as an actual instance instead of a hypothetical, I would like to change my first response from "absolutely" to "no" and my second response from "absolutely (at least I hope so)" to "I don't know (it's entirely His call.)"