Johannes Kepler

I have always been a man of forgiveness, and I have sought to let go of grudges.

I have always been a man of understanding, and I have sought to comprehend the world around me.

I have always been a man of vision, and I have sought to see beyond the present moment.

I have always been a man of action, and I have sought to make a difference in the world.

I have always been a man of learning, and I have sought to expand my knowledge.

I have always been a man of reflection, and I have sought to ponder the meaning of life.

I have always been a man of prayer, and I have sought to communicate with God.

I have always been a man of service, and I have sought to contribute to the well-being of others.

I have always been a man of truth, and I have sought to live in accordance with it.

I have always been a man of beauty, and I have sought to appreciate the aesthetic aspects of life.

I have always been a man of wonder, and I have sought to marvel at the mysteries of the universe.

I have attested it as a truth, and I have shown it by the most cogent demonstrations, that the celestial machine is to be likened not to a divine organism but rather to a clockwork.

The Earth is a living creature, and the tides are its breathing.

I am writing a book for posterity, or for the year 2000 perhaps. It may well wait a century for a reader, as God has waited six thousand years for an observer.

Geometry has two great treasures: one is the Theorem of Pythagoras; the other, the division of a line into extreme and mean ratio. The first we may compare to a measure of gold; the second we may name a precious jewel.

My aim is to show that the celestial machine is not like a divine organism, but like a clockwork.

I have spent my life in the study of the heavens, and I have found no greater joy than to contemplate the works of God.

I have measured the heavens, and I have found that they are not perfect.

The diversity of the phenomena of nature is so great, and the treasures hidden in the heavens so rich, precisely to the end that the human mind shall never be lacking in fresh nourishment.

I have made a book for you, my reader, which will show you the true motions of the planets.