On Sat, 11 Apr 2009 10:54:17 -0500, Cecil Moore
wrote:

Jeff wrote:
It is highly unlikely that Newton would have known Old English which went
out of use in the 12th Century, he probably would not have even known Middle
English, unless he was a avid reader of Chaucer.

In what English is the King James version of the
Bible written?

There's quite a bit on the topic he
http://www.bible-researcher.com/kingjames.html
Basically, it was called "Elizabethan English". The 54 authors of the
1611 Authorized Version (there were several subsequent mutations and
revisions) did an excellent job of translation, organization, and
keeping the Anglicans, Puritans, and other cults from dominating the
final product.

In college, I read Chaucer in the original "English". It was painful
and only vaguely resembled English in any recognizable form.

Newton's Principia was published about 75 years after the King James
Bible, in 1686. All of Newton's scientific papers were in Latin. For
example, Principia:
http://books.google.com/books?id=WqaGuP1HqE0C&printsec=frontcover&dq=Isaac +Newton%27s+Philosophiae+naturalis+principia+mathe matica#PPR1,M1
However, his correspondence was in fairly readable English, and not at
all like Olde English. There are several fragments at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writing_of_Principia_Mathematica
which show really weird punctuation and sentence structure. I guess
extra long comma spliced sentences were fashionable at the time. It's
difficult reading, but if one chops up the sentences into smaller
pieces and translated the idioms, it looks almost like modern English.


--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
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