" Mortal as I am,” wrote Ptolemy, “I know that I am born for a day, but when I follow the serried multitude of the stars in their circular course, my feet no longer touch the earth; I ascend to Zeus himself to feast me on ambrosia, the food of the gods.” He "

― Daniel J. Boorstin , The Discoverers: A History of Man's Search to Know His World and Himself