There are two versions of the transcription, diplomatic and normalized. The diplomatic version attempts, as far as is practicable, to present the manuscript as it actually appears. The normalized transcription is a more readable version, which eschews many of the conventions of the original manuscript. The diplomatic version is to be considered definitive.
No attempt has been made in either version to correct Newton's English spelling — whether appropriate to his time, simply idiosyncratic, or inconsistent — nor to correct his punctuation, capitalization, or sentence structure.
Angle brackets, i.e. "<>", and italics are not found in the original manuscript; their presence indicates an editorial insertion. Please see below for editorial conventions.
- Authorial Insertions are shown in smaller text, with the exception of marginal insertions (which are in the normal text size). Insertions above a line are shown superscripted, below the line subscripted. If the place of the insertion is indicated by Newton with a caret, it is shown. Insertions within a line are shown in smaller text regardless of relative size of the actual letters. Marginal insertions are normally shown between double daggers (‡) with the editorial insertion <in mg:> (e.g. from Keynes MS. 17, 3r "‡ <in mg:>273. ‡").
- Authorial Deletions in which the original text can be read with confidence are shown in gray letters with struck-through text (e.g. from Keynes MS. 17, 3r " ... fixi in albedinem ..."). In cases where a later deletion includes previously deleted text, the earlier deletion is indicated by a dashed line above the text. Occasionally, Newton indicates the deletion of a block of text by means of a large "X" or other indicator that covers only part of the intended deletion. In such cases, we use editorial discretion and indicate the intended deletion by means of struck-through text.
- Uncertain readings are displayed in highlighted text. Mousing over the text will reveal the reason for the uncertainty, if specified (e.g. from Keynes MS. 17, 3r " ... acuato compositio "). An uncertain reading and a deletion can be combined, in which case the word will be highlighted and struck-through.
- Illegible text is replaced by the highlighted editorial insertion "<illeg.>," which will reveal the extent and reason for illegibility when moused-over, e.g. from Keynes MS. 34, 1r ..."On Ripl. Pref. p 7 <illeg.>, 10, 58."
- Supplied text refers only to cases in which missing text that has been obliterated by damage or deletion can be inferred by the editors with some confidence. Supplied text is shown by highlighted text within angle brackets, e.g. from Keynes MS. 17, 3r " (propter mistur ignis naturalis et contra natur<)> " Mousing over the highlighted text will reveal the reason the text had to be supplied.
- Sic is used to indicate obvious errors or omissions. Where a word is corrected, the original text is highlighted and the editorial insertion <sic> placed after it; mousing-over the highlighted text will reveal the corrected reading, e.g. from Keynes MS. 18, 1r... " Dein ☿ hunc sic ablutam<sic> distilla". In cases where the correction involves inserting text, this is indicated by a highlighted <sic>; mousing-over the <sic> reveals the text to be inserted.
- Folio numbers are supplied by the editors at the top of each page in italics within angle brackets, e.g. from Keynes MS. 12, " <1r> Page Image " The editors supply folio numbers even in cases where the physical manuscript has already been paginated or foliated.
- Editorial remarks, when brief are given in italics within angle brackets, e.g. from Keynes MS. 12, f8v "<This page is blank except for possible shelfmarks and indications of library ownership.>"
- Editorial notes, indicated by a pop-up symbol in the text, are reserved for longer comments. These notes are numbered sequentially within each document and are accessible either by clicking the pop-up symbol or by scrolling to the end of the text. In cases where Newton has inserted a marker indicating that a portion of text should be transferred to a different position, the editorial note will, when deemed appropriate, contain a hyperlink leading to the portion of the text specified by Newton. For example, from Keynes MS. 20, 1r "a1 Whose colour "
- Fractions: In instances where Newton has written a compound fraction, i.e. a fraction with another fraction in the numerator or denominator, parentheses have been supplied for clarity, e.g. "1/(7 1/3)."
- Authorial Alternative Readings appear in several forms in the manuscripts, all of which are rendered in the transcription by highlighting with the editorial insertion "<or>". 1. One type consists of disjunctive alternatives indicated in the manuscript by columnar lists. For example, Newton writes "Apples etc frozen & immersed deep <or> shallow in water will not <or> will bee cased with ice." In this case, the pairs of words {deep, shallow} and {will not, will} are written one above another in the manuscript and set off with braces (curly brackets), and are meant to be read as disjunctive alternatives. That is, the sentence is to be read either as "Apples etc frozen & immersed deep in water will not bee cased with ice" or as "Apples etc frozen & immersed shallow in water will bee cased with ice." A mouseover of the highlighted text will reveal that the text represents disjunctive alternatives and whether Newton has used braces (which are not reproduced in the transcription). 2. A second type of alternative reading appears when Newton has not decided on the best word for a given manuscript reading or translation. In such cases, he writes one word on the text line with an alternative above that word.
- Librarians' Marks and other annotations to the manuscripts not in Newton's hand are highlighted. Mousing over the highlighted text will reveal information about the hand if known, or "unknown hand" if not. In many instances librarians' marks will not appear in exactly the same place in the transcription that they do in the original. Marks of ownership are generally omitted.For example, in Keynes MS. 12, 1r " 1 "
- Abbreviations (if identifiable) are expanded, including conventional short abbreviations, such as "ye" (the), "wch" (which), "wth" (with), "&c" (etc), etc. (It is thus possible to seek the meaning of an unfamiliar abbreviation in the diplomatic transcription by consulting the normalized version.)
- Authorial Insertions are ordinarily incorporated into the text in normal type, omitting carets (exceptions will be marked with an editorial note). Marginal insertions are shown between double daggers (‡) with the editorial insertion <in mg:>, e.g. "‡<in mg:> Note ‡".
- Authorial Deletions (including sections of text made illegible by deletion) are omitted.
- Supplied text and sic corrections are substituted into the text, with one exception. When Newton has repeated a word, symbol, or punctuation mark in order to facilitate the correct placement of an insertion, the repetition is dropped.
- Text that is illegible by reason other than being deleted is shown as in the diplomatic version by a highlighted "<illeg.>".
- Uncertain readings, marginal insertions, folio numbers, editorial remarks, fractions, disjunctive alternatives, and librarians' marks are given as in the diplomatic version.