The more we peer into the pre-Copernican universe, the more harmonies we find. It is both our gain and our loss that those now seem ludicrous.
—
William T. Vollmann, Uncentering the Earth
Vollmann is often annoyingly condescending, but he managed to explain and tie together the theories of four elements, four humours, etc. a lot better in one page than an Oxford lecturer did in an hour.
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simplescholar posted this
