“It fell because its stem would no longer hold it to its branch,” was his first thought.
But Sir Isaac was not satisfied with this answer. “Why did it fall toward the ground? Why should it not fall some other way just as well?” he asked.
“All heavy things fall to the ground—but why do they? Because they are heavy. That is not a good reason. For then we may ask why is anything heavy? Why is one thing heavier than another?”
When he had once begun to think about this he did not stop until he had reasoned it all out.
Millions and millions of people had seen apples fall, but it was left for Sir Isaac Newton to ask why they fall. He explained it in this way:
“Every object draws every other object toward it.
“The more matter an object contains the harder it draws.
“The nearer an object is to another the harder it draws.
“The harder an object draws other objects, the heavier it is said to be.