ALFONSO X

ALFONSO X (1226-1284)., the Wise, or the Astronomer, king of Castile and Leon, celebrated as an astronomer and a philosopher; after various successes over the Moors, first one son and then another rose against him and drove him from the throne; died of chagrin at Seville two years later. His fame connects itself with the preparation of the Alfonsine Tables, and the remark that "the universe seemed a crank machine, and it was a pity the Creator had not taken advice." It was a saying of his, "old wood to burn, old books to read, old wine to drink, and old friends to converse with".