“Prior to Newton, mathematics, chiefly in the form of geometry, had been studied as a fine art without any view to its physical applications other than in very trivial cases. But with Newton all the resources of mathematics were turned to advantage in the solution of physical problems. Thenceforth mathematics appeared as an instrument of discovery, the most powerful one known to man, multiplying the power of thought... It is this application of mathematics to the solution of physical problems, this combination of two separate fields of investigation, which constitutes the essential characteristic of the Newtonian method. Thus problems of physics were metamorphosed into problems of mathematics. ...Newton showed the mark of genius by inventing the integral calculus. As a result... problems which would have baffled Archimedes were solved with ease. ...this new departure in scientific method led to the discovery of the law of gravitation. ...the real significance in Newton's achievement lay ...in his having established the presence of law and order at least in one realm of nature ...the motions of the heavenly bodies. Nature thus exhibited rationality and was not mere blind chaos and uncertainty.”
UI