The Mind of Massachusetts - Clue The First
"There was the characteristic pessimism and the passion for work, the profit motive and the constant desire to get ahead, the suspicion of art, the devotion to family, the hatred of oaths, and the drive to strip formal religion of all but the most fundamental of its rites and doctrines. His was a creed that taught that one must be wary of all men, struggle against their evil ways, and be even harder on oneself than on others. As for the stirrings of the heart, they are not to be trusted; any show of emotion mus be reserved for members of the family alone, the flesh of one's flesh. Ceaseless labor is the only proper way to beautify the earth, which has been entrusted by God to His children, so that they might improve it by the sweat of their brows and the unremitting application of their minds. Success in itself is not enough, however, because its wages are often the twin evils of pride and vanity.
"In addition to the other radical Protestant traits identifiable in Newton's behavior, he, like Cromwell, was seemingly possessed of that regal Puritan notion of special election."
Gale E. Christianson, explaining the cultural background of Sir Issac Newton in the book In the Presence of the Creator, (c)1984.
