Greetings All!
As you may know, Isaac Newton studied hermetics - the works of Hermes Mercurius Trismegistus (aka Thoth, in the Egyptian pantheon). There is even a "Newtonian Translation" of the Emerald Tablet of Hermes, which clearly demonstrates that Newton was GREATLY influenced by Hermes.
In my research, I have found correlations between Newton's Laws of Motion - and, by extension, Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion - and the Corpus Hermetica.
Here's a quick primer on Newton's Laws of Motion, taken from Wikipedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newton_laws_of_motion
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Newton's laws of motion are three physical laws that together laid the foundation for classical mechanics. They describe the relationship between a body and the forces acting upon it, and its motion in response to said forces. They have been expressed in several different ways over nearly three centuries,[1] and can be summarized as follows:
1.First law: An object remains at rest or at a constant velocity (uniform motion), with respect to an inertial reference frame, unless acted upon by a force [2][3]
2.Second law: The acceleration of a body is directly proportional to, and in the same direction as, the net force acting on the body, and inversely proportional to its mass. Thus, F = ma, where F is the net force acting on the object, m is the mass of the object and a is the acceleration of the object.
3.Third law: When one body exerts a force on a second body, the second body simultaneously exerts a force equal in magnitude and opposite in direction to that of the first body. The three laws of motion were first compiled by Isaac Newton in his Philosophić Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy), first published in 1687.[4] Newton used them to explain and investigate the motion of many physical objects and systems.[5] For example, in the third volume of the text, Newton showed that these laws of motion, combined with his law of universal gravitation, explained Kepler's laws of planetary motion.
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And here's a primer on Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion, taken from here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kepler%27s_laws_of_planetary_motion
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In astronomy, Kepler's laws of planetary motion are three scientific laws describing orbital motion, originally formulated to describe the motion of planets around the Sun.
Kepler's laws are:
1.The orbit of every planet is an ellipse with the Sun at one of the two foci.
2.A line joining a planet and the Sun sweeps out equal areas during equal intervals of time.[1]
3.The square of the orbital period of a planet is proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis of its orbit.
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Now, here's where I found the correlation with the Laws of Motion/Planetary Motion and the Corpus Hermetica.
This is a snip taken from Page 29 of a PDF of the Corpus Hermetica, found here: http://www.hermetics.org/pdf/corpushermetica.pdf
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The Ninth Book. A Universal Sermon To Asclepius.
1. Hermes. All that is moved, O Asclepius, is it not moved in some thing, and by some thing?
2. Asclepius. Yes, indeed.
3. Hermes. Must not that, in which a thing is moved, of necessity be greater than the thing that is moved?
4. Of necessity.
5. And that which moveth, is it not stronger than that which is moved?
6. Asclepius. It is stronger.
7. Hermes. That in which a thing is moved, must it not needs have a Nature, contrary to that of the thing that is moved?
8. Asclepius. It must needs.
9. Hermes. Is not this great World a Body, than. which there is no greater?
10. Asclepius. Yes, confessedly.
11. Hermes. And is it not solid, as filled with many great bodies, and indeed, with all the Bodies that are?
12. Asclepius. It is so.
13. Hermes. And is not the World a Body, and a Body that is moved.
14. Asclepius. It is.
15. Hermes. Then what kind of a place must it be, wherein it is moved, and of what Nature? Must it not be much bigger, that it may receive the continuity of Motion? and lest that which is moved should for want of room, he stayed, and hindered in the Motion?
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For those interested, the dialogue continues and is most insightful... :)
It makes me wonder: When Newton was sitting under that tree and that apple fell on his head - WHAT BOOK WAS HE READING?
Blessings and Namaste,
Gaian
