Elements of Geometry by Euclid: “So he found a copy of Euclid's Elements of Geometry, and began to read.”
Natural Questions by Seneca: Chapter epigraph: "Our universe is a sorry little affair unless it has in it something for every age to investigate... —Seneca, Natural Questions, Book 7"
Tao Te Ching by Laozi: “Twelve lines from Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, translated by D. C. Lau, quoted as a chapter epigraph.”
On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin: Chapter epigraph: "...endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved. —Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species, 1859"
De Stella Nova by Johannes Kepler: “Kepler published in 1606 a book called De Stella Nova, "On the New Star," in which he wonders if a supernova is the result of some random concatenation of atoms in the heavens.”
Popol Vuh: “Quoted as chapter epigraph: "...Are they not by nature simple creatures of our making? Must they also be gods?" —The Popol Vuh of the Quiche Maya”
Somnium by Johannes Kepler: “Kepler wrote one of the first works of science fiction... It was called the Somnium, "The Dream." He imagined a journey to the Moon.”
The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells: “These opening lines of H. G. Wells' 1897 science fiction classic The War of the Worlds maintain their haunting power to this day.”
Oedipus Rex by Sophocles: “We do know that of the 123 plays of Sophocles in the Library, only seven survived. One of those seven is Oedipus Rex.”
The Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms Amended by Isaac Newton: “In his last, posthumous work, "The Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms Amended," we find repeated astronomical calibrations of historical events; an architectural reconstruction of the Temple of Solomon...”
Systema Saturnium by Christiaan Huygens: “A detail from Christiaan Huygens' Systema Saturnium, published in 1659, showing his explanation of the changing appearance of the rings of Saturn.”
The Last Temptation of Christ by Nikos Kazantzakis: “Chapter IV epigraph: "The doors of heaven and hell are adjacent and identical. —Nikos Kazantzakis, The Last Temptation of Christ"”
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll: “Consider a possibly typical group of Earth beings at the tea party from Alice in Wonderland.”
The Tale of the Heike: “What happened next is told in The Tale of the Heike: "The Emperor was seven years old that year but looked much older..."”
Automata by Heron of Alexandria: “Heron of Alexandria, inventor of gear trains and steam engines and the author of Automata, the first book on robots.”
Hamlet by William Shakespeare: “It is a little as if the only surviving works of a man named William Shakespeare were Coriolanus and A Winter's Tale, but we had heard that he had written... Hamlet, Macbeth, Julius Caesar, King Lear, Romeo and Juliet.”
Macbeth by William Shakespeare: “Same passage listing Shakespeare's lost-analogy plays: Hamlet, Macbeth, Julius Caesar, King Lear, Romeo and Juliet.”
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare: “Same passage listing Shakespeare's lost-analogy plays: Hamlet, Macbeth, Julius Caesar, King Lear, Romeo and Juliet.”
King Lear by William Shakespeare: “Same passage listing Shakespeare's lost-analogy plays: Hamlet, Macbeth, Julius Caesar, King Lear, Romeo and Juliet.”
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare: “Same passage listing Shakespeare's lost-analogy plays: Hamlet, Macbeth, Julius Caesar, King Lear, Romeo and Juliet.”
Bhagavad Gita: “Quote from the Bhagavad Gita cited via Lawrence and Oppenheimer, used in the book's discussion of Oppenheimer and nuclear weapons.”
Books that mention Cosmos (1)
In Chancery by John Galsworthy: “Gibbon's Roman Empire and Humboldt's Cosmos, and the bronzes on the mantelpiece”