<i>Priusquam autem ad creationem, hoc est ad finem omnis disputationis, veniamus: tentanda omnia existimo</i>. However, before we come to [special] … - Johannes Kepler

The Earth is round, and is inhabited on all sides, is insignificantly small, and is borne through the stars.

I was almost driven to madness in considering and calculating this matter. I could not find out why the planet would rather go on an elliptical orbit. Oh, ridiculous me! As the liberation in the diameter could not also be the way to the ellipse. So this notion brought me up short, that the ellipse exists because of the liberation. With reasoning derived from physical principles, agreeing with experience, there is no figure left for the orbit of the planet but a perfect ellipse.

The harnessing to a rational pursuit of the immense psychic energies derived from an irrational obsession seems to be another secret of genius, at least of genius of a certain type.