Epigraph

How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,

Till rising and gliding out I wander'd off by myself,

In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,

Look'd up in perfect silence at the stars.

—Walt Whitman, "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer"

You came, and I was mad for you,

And you cooled my mind that burned with longing.

—Sappho

Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light;

I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.

—Sarah Williams,"The Old Astronomer to His Pupil"