Mathematics. . . would certainly have not come into existence if one had known from the beginning that there was in nature no exactly straight line, no actual circle, no absolute magnitude.
Source: Human, All Too Human, sct. 11 (1878).
-- Friedrich Nietzsche, (Oct 15 1844-1900), German philosopher, poet; He was a noted critic of Christianity, conformism and nationalism who wrote The Birth of Tragedy, 1872.