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I am stealing the golden vessels of the Egyptians to build a tabernacle to my God from them, far far away from the boundaries of Egypt. If you forgive me, I shall rejoice; if you are enraged with me, I shall bear it. See, I cast the die, and I write the book. Whether it is to be read by the people of the present or of the future makes no difference: let it await its reader for a hundred years, if God himself has stood ready for six thousand years for one to study him.
Johannes Kepler
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Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote reflects the interplay between human effort and divine will in the pursuit of knowledge.

Johannes Kepler's quote conveys a deep philosophical insight into the nature of human endeavors, particularly in the context of scientific exploration and spiritual aspirations. Kepler illustrates his commitment to divine purpose by using the metaphor of stealing from the Egyptians to build a tabernacle, symbolizing humanity's quest to understand the cosmos through the study of God's creation. He acknowledges the uncertainties of how his work will be received in the present or future, yet emphasizes the importance of perseverance in seeking knowledge and truth, akin to God's patience in waiting for seekers throughout the ages.

Themes

KnowledgeDivinePerseveranceScienceTruth

In practice

Example use cases

During a science conference, one may use this quote to inspire researchers about the importance of their work in understanding the universe.

More from Johannes Kepler

...Those laws are within the grasp of the human mind. God wanted us to recognize them by creating us after his own image so that we could share in his own thoughts... and if piety allow us to say so, our understanding is in this respect of the same kind as the divine, at least as far as we are able to grasp something of it in our mortal life.
Johannes KeplerRead
A most unfailing experience... of the excitement of sublunary (that is, human) natures by the conjunctions and aspects of the planets has instructed and compelled my unwilling belief.
Johannes KeplerRead
We find, therefore, under this orderly arrangement, a wonderful symmetry in the universe, and a definite relation of harmony in the motion and magnitude of the orbs, of a kind that is not possible to obtain in any other way.
Johannes KeplerRead
Eyesight should learn from reason.
Johannes KeplerRead
I measured the skies, now the shadows I measure, Sky-bound was the mind, earth-bound the body rests. [Kepler's epitaph]
Johannes KeplerRead
It may be well to wait a century for a reader, as God has waited six thousand years for an observer.
Johannes KeplerRead

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