Abstract
In October of 1595, Johannes Kepler joyfully conveyed to Tübingen the news that he had completed his first book, the Mysterium cosmographicum. “I truly desire,” he wrote to Michael Maestlin, his former professor of mathematics, “that these things are published as quickly as possible for the glory of God, who wants to be known from the Book of Nature […]. I wanted to be a theologian; for a long time I was distressed: behold God is now celebrated too in my astronomical work.”1 Unable to devote himself to the Book of Scripture directly,2 Kepler had turned his focus to God’s other book—the Book of Nature—which, he believed, also revealed God’s providential plan.
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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Patrick Boner, and all the participants at the conference where this paper was originally presented, for their helpful questions and comments. Special thanks as well to Anthony Grafton for his valuable suggestions, and to Elliot Gardner, as always.
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© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
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Rothman, A. (2011). From Cosmos to Confession: Kepler and the Connection Between Astronomical and Religious Truth. In: Boner, P. (eds) Change and Continuity in Early Modern Cosmology. Archimedes, vol 27. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0037-6_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0037-6_7
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