Perry Miller
(25 Feb 1905 - 9 Oct 1963)
Mesopotamian historian who is remembered for his analysis of 17th-century New England Puritanism. Later in his life he wrote about 19th-century America.
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Science Quotes by Perry Miller (1 quote)
It is obvious that man dwells in a splendid universe, a magnificent expanse of earth and sky and heaven, which manifestly is built on a majestic plan, maintains some mighty design, though man himself cannot grasp it. Yet for him it is not a pleasant or satisfying world. In his few moments of respite from labor or from his enemies, he dreams that this very universe might indeed be perfect, its laws operating just as now they seem to do, and yet he and it somehow be in full accord. The very ease with which he can frame this image to himself makes the reality all the more mocking. ... It is only too clear that man is not at home in this universe, and yet he is not good enough to deserve a better.
— Perry Miller
In The New England Mind: The Seventeenth Century (1939, 1954), 7.