Amir R. Alexander Quote

Theological and philosophical disputes could rage forever, he [Christopher Clavius] believed, because there was no universally accepted way to decide who was right and who was wrong.... But mathematics was different: with mathematics, the truth forces itself upon its audience whether they like it or not. One could dispute the Catholic doctrine of the sacraments, but one could not deny the Pythagorean theorem; and no one could deny the correctness of the new calendar, based as it was on the detailed mathematical calculations.

Infinitesimal: How a Dangerous Mathematical Theory Shaped the Modern World (2014)