Wine Is Sunlight, Held Together

The Surface Of The Moon Is Not Smooth, Uniform, And Precisely Spherical As A Great Number Of Philosophers Believe It To Be, But Is Uneven, Rough, And Full Of Cavities And Prominences, Being Not Unlike The Face Of The Earth, Relieved By Chains Of Mountains And Deep Valleys.

Among The Great Men Who Have Philosophized About [the Action Of The Tides], The One Who Surprised Me Most Is Kepler. He Was A Person Of Independent Genius, [but He] Became Interested In The Action Of The Moon On The Water, And In Other Occult Phenomena, And Similar Childishness.

And Believe Me, If I Were Again Beginning My Studies, I Should Follow The Advice Of Plato And Start With The Mathematical Sciences, Which Proceed Very Cautiously And Admit Nothing As Established Until It Has Been Rigorously Demonstrated.

The Theologians Also Should Not Be Irritated. For If They Find That This Opinion Is False, Then They Would Be Free To Condemn It; And If They Discover That It Is True, They Ought To Thank Those Who Have Opened The Way To Finding The True Sense Of The Scriptures And Who Have Prevented Them From Falling Into The Grave Scandal Of Condemning A True Proposition.

Nature . . . Is Inexorable And Immutable; She Never Transgresses The Laws Imposed Upon Her, Nor Cares A Whit Whether Her Abstruse Reasons And Methods Of Operations Are Understandable To Men.