“A poet,” I tell him. “Such beautiful words.” He all but cackles before his voice falls soft and solemn, as if reciting verses. “‘The strongest affection and utmost zeal should, I think, promote the studies concerned with the most beautiful objects. This is the discipline that deals with the universe’s divine revolutions, the stars’ motions, sizes, distances, risings and settings…for what is more beautiful than heaven?’”
