In 1622, while he was a student at Trinity College, Cambridge, a 19 year old Isaac Newton compiled a list of 57 sins he had committed recently. The whole lot are worth a read, but I particularly enjoy numbers 10, 13 and 26:
Before Whitsunday 1662
- Using the word (God) openly
- Eating an apple at Thy house
- Making a feather while on Thy day
- Denying that I made it.
- Making a mousetrap on Thy day
- Contriving of the chimes on Thy day
- Squirting water on Thy day
- Making pies on Sunday night
- Swimming in a kimnel on Thy day
- Putting a pin in Iohn Keys hat on Thy day to pick him
- Carelessly hearing and committing many sermons
- Refusing to go to the close at my mothers command
- Threatning my father and mother Smith to burne them and the house over them
- Wishing death and hoping it to some
- Striking many
- Having uncleane thoughts words and actions and dreamese
- Stealing cherry cobs from Eduard Storer
- Denying that I did so
- Denying a crossbow to my mother and grandmother though I knew of it
- Setting my heart on money learning pleasure more than Thee
- A relapse
- A relapse
- A breaking again of my covenant renued in the Lords Supper
- Punching my sister
- Robbing my mothers box of plums and sugar
- Calling Dorothy Rose a jade
- Glutiny in my sickness
- Peevishness with my mother
- With my sister
- Falling out with the servants
- Divers commissions of alle my duties
- Idle discourse on Thy day and at other times
- Not turning nearer to Thee for my affections
- Not living according to my belief
- Not loving Thee for Thy self
- Not loving Thee for Thy goodness to us
- Not desiring Thy ordinances
- Not long {longing} for Thee in {illeg}
- Fearing man above Thee
- Using unlawful means to bring us out of distresses
- Caring for worldly things more than God
- Not craving a blessing from God on our honest endeavors.
- Missing chapel.
- Beating Arthur Storer.
- Peevishness at Master Clarks for a piece of bread and butter.
- Striving to cheat with a brass halfe crowne.
- Twisting a cord on Sunday morning
- Reading the history of the Christian champions on Sunday
Since Whitsunday 1662
- Glutony
- Glutony
- Using Wilfords towel to spare my own
- Negligence at the chapel.
- Sermons at Saint Marys (4)
- Lying about a louse
- Denying my chamberfellow of the knowledge of him that took him for a sot.
- Neglecting to pray 3
- Helping Pettit to make his water watch at 12 of the clock on Saturday night
Ranging from the odd to the malicious I found the list fascinating. I'm not sure whether these were common ways to behave at the time or whether Newton was unusually unhinged; though I'm inclined to think the latter.
To elaborate on some of these: most of the male names throughout the sins were his housemates while at university. The Arthur Storer mentioned in 44 later became a famous astronomer and had two siblings, Eduard Storer (number 17) and Katherine Storer with whom Newton had been unsuccessfully engaged a couple of years before.
His mother remarried after Newton's biological father died and the "father" mentioned in number 13 was his step dad who Newton did not get on with. The person I feel the most sorry for is Dorothy Rose, for the only mark she will make in the history books is by being called a jade.
