British Library Introduction

Museum Description: Isaac Newton

Room: Front Piazza

Scripture: Romans 1:25

In the courtyard to The British Library is a sculpture based on a painting by William Blake.  Can you tell who it is, and what he is doing?  It is easier to see in the painting, it represents Sir Isaac Newton sitting on the bottom of the sea, measuring it.  This represents the new understanding that, through science, man can understand the world for himself.  During a period of history called The Enlightenment, this belief lead to a higher criticism of the Bible, and a rejection of the need for religion and a belief in God.

The British Library can tell the full story of how the English Bible we use today came to us.  From some of the earliest manuscripts through translation and printing, it is fascinating to be able to see first-hand these world-famous documents!