QuotesCosmos
Isaac Newton, (1730), Opticks:: Or, A Treatise of the Reflections, Refractions, Inflections and Colours of Light (4th ed.) chapter: DEFINITIONS, pages: 2–3 (1st edition 1704)
“

DEFIN. II. ... Mathematicians uſually conſider the Rays of Light to be Lines reaching from the luminous Body to the Body illuminated, and the refraction of thoſe Rays to be the bending or breaking of thoſe lines in their paſſing out of one Medium into another. And thus may Rays and Refractions be conſidered, if Light be propagated in an inſtant. But by an Argument taken from the Æquations of the times of the Eclipſes of ????upiter's Satellites, it ſeems that Light is propagated in time, ſpending in its paſſage from the Sun to us about ſeven Minutes of time: And therefore I have choſen to define Rays and Refractions in ſuch general terms as may agree to Light in both caſes.

— Isaac Newton on Light

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "DEFIN. II. ... Mathematicians uſually conſider the Rays of Light to be Lines reaching from the luminous Body to the Body illuminated, and the refraction of thoſe Rays to be the bending or breaking of thoſe lines in their paſſing out of one Medium into another. And thus may Rays and Refractions be conſidered, if Light be propagated in an inſtant. But by an Argument taken from the Æquations of the times of the Eclipſes of ????upiter's Satellites, it ſeems that Light is propagated in time, ſpending in its paſſage from the Sun to us about ſeven Minutes of time: And therefore I have choſen to define Rays and Refractions in ſuch general terms as may agree to Light in both caſes." in the context of "Isaac Newton, (1730), Opticks:: Or, A Treatise of the Reflections, Refractions, Inflections and Colours of Light (4th ed.) chapter: DEFINITIONS, pages: 2–3 (1st edition 1704)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Light" (Quotes, N) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app

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#Isaac Newton#light#rays#refractions#propagated#lines#body#thoe#may#mathematicians#illuminated#refraction
Isaac Newton

About Isaac Newton

Sir Isaac Newton (January 4, 1643 – March 31, 1727 or in Old Style: December 25, 1642 – March 20, 1727) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author (described in his time as a "natural philosopher"), widely recognised as one of the greatest mathematicians and physicists and among the most influential scientists of all time. He was a key figure in the philosophical revolution known as the Enlightenment. His book Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy), first published in 1687, established classical mechanics. Newton also made seminal contributions to optics, and shares credit with German mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz for developing infinitesimal calculus.