I had to have a chuckle - He was quoting a bit of scripture there then - or using its poetry for his own end...
Hebrews 11 v12 New International translation
And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
A scientist unafraid to say things like:-
"Science is not only compatible with spirituality; it is a profound source of spirituality. When we recognize our place in an immensity of light-years and in the passage of ages, when we grasp the intricacy, beauty, and subtlety of life, then that soaring feeling, that sense of elation and humility combined, is surely spiritual.
Sadly He like many others would not be accepted by many in his field of expertise today. Imho most of the "People" Scientists have been subdued by the cancer that masquerades as Atheism. But is in fact more divisive than that.