I suppose someone should point out explicitly that this
interpretation is extremely unlikely. (I do not know who
first imagined the idea; it is mentioned (but dismissed) in a
footnote on p. 274 of Westfall's _Never at Rest_ (1980).)
First, as Mr. White goes on to admit, Hooke showed no
sign of unhappiness with Newton's letter; and no one thought
of giving it such an interpretation for hundreds of years.
That is not a guarantee, but certainly one should be
reluctant to suppose a letter had a meaning quite different
from what the people closer to its writing saw in it.
Second, Hooke did not "have the appearance of a dwarf";
according to Aubrey, _Brief Lives_, he was of "middling
stature."
Third, I do not see how the "Giants" can refer to anyone but
the two people mentioned, Descartes and Hooke. And I find it
very hard to believe that it should be given a secondary
literal meaning for just one of the two.
Fourth, when Newton writes angrily, he doesn't write
like that at all. Here for comparison is a bit of Newton
writing in anger (and for publication) somewhat earlier
(also in Westfall):
"Mr Hook thinks himself concerned to reprehend me for
laying aside the thoughts of improving Optiques by
Refractions. But he knows well that it is not for one
man to prescribe Rules to the studies of another,
especially not without understanding the grounds on which
he proceeds."
As he wrote to Oldenberg then, he did not use "oblique and
glancing expressions," let alone subtle second meanings that
no one would detect for centuries.
-------
Apart from verifying this passage, I have not read any of
White's book. Does he really try to say that Newton was
involved in sorcery?
William C. Waterhouse
Penn State