The Bizarre Cure Isaac Newton Swore Could Defeat the Bubonic Plague—Made From Toad Vomit
Bonhams Fine Art Auctioneers and ValuersThe pages being auctioned off have never been included in any of Isaac Newton’s collected works.
Interested only in his math and science-based papers, the university sold Newton’s controversial work on alchemy, theology, and philosophy, which included his analysis of Van Helmont’s work, to private collectors in 1936.
“There was never much interest in his ‘other’ writings until recently,” continued Sutherland. “So it really is a case of cometh the hour, cometh the man — with his remedies to ward off a virus that’s causing a pandemic.”
As it stands, the notes are set to be auctioned off for an estimated $80,000 to $120,000 as part of the Essential Genius: Ten Important Manuscripts series, which will be held exclusively online.
The auction will run until June 10 and will also include a signed and autographed draft of the last lines of “A Thought of Columbus” — the final poem written by Walt Whitman.
Next up, read about the terrifying but necessary job of a medieval plague doctor. Then, learn the disturbing history of the lesser-known Antonine plague that ravaged ancient Greece.
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