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You meaner beauties of the night,
That poorly satisfy our eyes
More by your number than your light;
You common people of the skies,
What are you when the sun shall rise?

— Henry Wotton

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Space

More quotes by Henry Wotton

He first deceased; she for a little tried
To live without him, liked it not, and died.

Upon the Death of Sir Albert Morton's Wife (1651)

I am but a gatherer and disposer of other men's stuff.

Preface to the Elements of Architecture (1624)

An ambassador is an honest man sent to lie abroad for the good of his country.

Written in the album of Christopher Fleckmore (1604)

Lord of himself, though not of lands;
And having nothing, yet hath all.

Advised a young diplomat "to tell the truth, and so puzzle and confound his enemies."

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Since, in the long run, every planetary society will be endangered by impacts from space, every surviving civilization is obliged to become spacefaring — not because of exploratory or romantic zeal, but for the most practical reason imaginable: staying alive.

Carl Sagan Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space (1994)

The stars awaken a certain reverence, because though always present, they are inaccessible; but all natural objects make a kindred impression, when the mind is open to their influence. Nature never wears a mean appearance.

Ralph Waldo Emerson Nature (1836)

Her blue eyes sought the west afar,
For lovers love the western star.

Walter Scott The Lay of the Last Minstrel (1805)

Einstein's space is no closer to reality than Van Gogh's sky.

Arthur Koestler The Act of Creation (1964)

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Henry Wotton (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.