Since thou readest in her what thou thyself hast there written, <br /> And, to gladden the eye, placest her wonders in groups;-- <br /> Since o'er her boundless expanses thy cords to extend thou art able, <br /> Thou dost think that thy mind wonderful Nature can grasp. <br /> Thus the astronomer draws his figures over the heavens, <br /> So that he may with more ease traverse the infinite space, <br /> Knitting together e'en suns that by Sirius-distance are parted, <br /> Making them join in the swan and in the horns of the bull. <br /> But because the firmament shows him its glorious surface, <br /> Can he the spheres' mystic dance therefore decipher aright?<br /><br />Friedrich Schiller<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/human-knowledge/
