... We went into the garden, & drank tea under the shade of some
appletrees, only he, & myself. amidst other discourse, he told me, he
was just in the same situation, as when formerly, the notion of
gravitation came into his mind. "why should that apple always descend
perpendicularly to the ground," thought he to him self: occasion'd by
the fall of an apple, as he sat in a comtemplative mood: "why should
it not go sideways, or upwards? but constantly to the earths centre?
assuredly, the reason is, that the earth draws it. there must be a
drawing power in matter. & the sum of the drawing power in the matter
of the earth must be in the earths centre, not in any side of the
earth. therefore dos this apple fall perpendicularly, or toward the
centre. if matter thus draws matter; it must be in proportion of its
quantity. therefore the apple draws the earth, as well as the earth
draws the apple."
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Newton
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