Sophron and Neophilus, or The School of Wisdom

Sophron. I am not of this opinion; especially —

Neophilus. But if the writer gives no cause to doubt his love of truth and sincerity. —

Sophron. You surely do not wish to maintain, best Neophilus, that one must necessarily be a deceiver or a fool to speak untruths?

Neophilus. You surely will not believe me capable of such an absurdity! But I cannot hide from you that it is difficult for me to imagine that a man of such wide-ranging knowledge and rare intellectual powers should sell his own brain-children fanciful, unsupported ideas to the world as settled truths with such a tone of reliability and personal conviction, and use them as pillars for his entire system of doctrine.

Sophron. I will not dispute his rare astronomical erudition for a moment. But if you have read the book attentively, then you will...