Sagan on War

or a war, the 30 Years War.

Watching Cosmos (being re-broadcast on the Science Channel), he described Kepler's life and the frustrating process of his discovery of the laws of planetary motion. At a certain point Kepler is chased into exile due to war, the war the result of rising religious conflict.

Sagan intones, "The conflict, portrayed on both sides as a Holy War, was more an exploitation of religious bigotry by those hungry for land and power."