The Latin Bible begins with the words, “In principio creavit Deus caelum et terram.” The King James Version renders this passage, “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.” But Genesis 1:1 might be rendered, “In principle, God created the heaven and the earth” or even, “As Principle, God created the heaven and the earth.”

When Sir Isaac Newton erected his monumental edifice of physics in 1687, he named the Latin text “Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica” or what we might describe today as the Mathematical Principles of Physics. When Mrs. Morgan sought a name for her fledgling school for Christian Scientists, her prayer led her to the name Principia.

As she later wrote: “At Principia, as the name indicates, the purpose is to base all work in Principle, thus laying a solid foundation scholastically, morally, and spiritually. Truthful thinking is the basis of all successful accomplishment. The engineer who builds his bridge in absolute obedience to the principle of bridge construction produces a structure which will stand every test made upon it for strength and endurance and which will satisfy every demand for perfect proportion and beauty of line.”

And during the Second World War, she related this concept to the very breadth of humanity. “I believe Principia’s work — inconspicuous though it may be, and should be — occupies a frontline position in the present world conflict of ideals.”

Tom Fuller
Interim Dean of the College
Fall 2007