Newton’s end-of-the-world fascination will be explored in the documentary Newton: The Dark Heretic on BBC2 on Saturday, March 1. The documentary argues that the image of Newton as the great rational thinker was created after his death–Newton was actually a puritanical zealot, a secret heretic who raged against the Anglican Church, delighted in the suffering of Catholics and felt God had given him special powers.
“What has been coming out over the past 10 years is what an apocalyptic thinker Newton was,” says the documentary’s producer, Malcolm Neaum. “He spent something like 50 years and wrote 4,500 pages trying to predict when the end of the world was coming. But until now it was not known that he ever wrote down a final figure. He was very reluctant to do so.”
Raphael Weiser, director of the library’s manuscripts and archives department, told CTV News that Stephen Snobelen had worked extensively on its Newton collection and had brought a BBC camera crew with him, but that he had not seen whatever document BBC intends to present as evidence. “They came here two months ago with a researcher from Nova Scotia. He found in one of our folios this note and they are going to show it on their program.” Weiser said he could not confirm the manuscript’s contents or authenticity until it is revealed in the BBC film. “I didn’t see it with my own eyes. When they show it on TV, we will see it.”