Writer and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson said, ‘There is no limit to what can be accomplished if it doesn’t matter who gets the credit.’ Most people know about Isaac Newton’s encounter with a falling apple, and how he introduced the law of gravity which revolutionised many areas of study in physics. But very few people know that if it hadn’t been for a man called Edmond Halley, the world may never have heard of Newton. Halley was the one who urged Newton to think through his original theories, corrected his mathematical mistakes, and constructed geometrical figures to support his discoveries. It was Halley who persuaded a hesitant Newton to write his great work The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy. And it was Halley who edited and supervised its publication and financed its printing, even though Newton was wealthier and could have afforded the cost more easily. Historians have called Halley’s affiliation with Newton one of the most selfless cases in science. Newton began almost immediately to reap the rewards of prominence, but Halley received almost no credit. He did use the principles Newton established to forecast the orbit and return of a comet that would eventually be named after him . But since Halley’s Comet returns only every seventy-six years, relatively few people still hear his name. However, Halley didn’t care who got the credit as long as the cause of science was advanced. He personified what it means to live by this scriptural principle: ‘Be devoted to one another in love. Honour one another above yourselves.’ Anytime God gives you an opportunity to put others first and yourself second, grab it and run with it.
