Sophron and Neophilus, or The School of Wisdom

but I may surely remind you that by doing so, I do not yet declare his system to be the truth nor accept it.

Neophilus. I anticipate your first objection and grant it to you in advance for the most part. It would, namely, have been the writer’s duty to name more witnesses for his historico-astrognostic relating to the intersection of history and star-knowledge claims, instead of expecting his readers, whom he surely could not assume to have such an exact acquaintance with the most ancient antiquity, to believe everything on his authority.

Sophron. Indeed! And what is the authority of an unknown man?

Neophilus. Yet, it seems to me that the other side of the question also deserves to be investigated: whether, if the unnamed author shows himself throughout his book to be a man of great erudition and rare keenness of mind, one should not at least be allowed to believe some things on his word.