The Heavenly Motions... Are Nothing But A

If This [the Mysterium Cosmographicum] Is Published, Others Will Perhaps Make Discoveries I Might Have Reserved For Myself. But We Are All Ephemeral Creatures (and None More So Than I). I Have, Therefore, For The Glory Of God, Who Wants To Be Recognized From The Book Of Nature, That These Things May Be Published As Quickly As Possible. The More Others Build On My Work The Happier I Shall Be.

Now, As God The Maker Play'd He Taught The Game To Nature Whom He Created In His Image; Taught Her The Selfsame Game Which He Played To Her.

Planets Move In Ellipses With The Sun At One Focus.

I Am Much Occupied With The Investigation Of The Physical Causes [of Motions In The Solar System]. My Aim In This Is To Show That The Celestial Machine Is To Be Likened Not To A Divine Organism But Rather To A Clockwork ... Insofar As Nearly All The Manifold Movements Are Carried Out By Means Of A Single, Quite Simple Magnetic Force. This Physical Conception Is To Be Presented Through Calculation And Geometry.

The Heavenly Bodies Are Nothing But A Continuous Song For Several Voices (perceived By The Intellect, Not By The Ear); A Music Which... Sets Landmarks In The Immeasurable Flow Of Time. It Is Therefore, No Longer Surprising That Man, In Imitation Of His Creator, Has At Last Discovered The Art Of Figured Song, Which Was Unknown To The Ancients. Man Wanted To Reproduce The Continuity Of Cosmic Time... To Obtain A Sample Test Of The Delight Of The Divine Creator In His Works, And To Partake Of His Joy By Making Music In The Imitation Of God.