"Scientific arguments alone could have any weight with Professor Liedenbrock. Now there were good ones against the practicability of such a journey. Penetrate to the center of the earth! What nonsense! But I kept my dialectic battery in reserve for a suitable opportunity, and I interested myself in the prospect of my dinner, which was not yet forthcoming." "Journey to the Center of the Earth" by Jules Verne is a classic of early science fiction. It is full of wonderful imagery and colour for the imagination.