For when a ship is floating calmly along, the sailors see its motion mirrored in everything outside, while on the other hand they suppose that they a… - Nicolaus Copernicus

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For when a ship is floating calmly along, the sailors see its motion mirrored in everything outside, while on the other hand they suppose that they are stationary, together with everything on board. In the same way, the motion of the earth can unquestionably produce the impression that the entire universe is rotating.

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About Nicolaus Copernicus

Nicolaus Copernicus (19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was an early modern astronomer and mathematician; proponent of the heliocentric cosmic model. His book, De revolutionibus orbium coelestium [On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres], is often regarded as the starting point of modern astronomy and the defining epiphany that began the Scientific Revolution.

Biography information from Wikiquote

Also Known As

Alternative Names: Niklas Koppernigk Mikołaj Kopernik Nikolaus Kopernikus Copernicus Kopernikus
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To know the mighty works of God, to comprehend His wisdom and majesty and power; to appreciate, in degree, the wonderful workings of His laws, surely all this must be a pleasing and acceptable mode of worship to the Most High, to whom ignorance cannot be more grateful than knowledge.

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Hence I feel no shame in asserting that this whole region engirdled by the moon, and the center of the earth, traverse this grand circle amid the rest of the planets in an annual revolution around the sun. Near the sun is the center of the universe. Moreover, since the sun remains stationary, whatever appears as a motion of the sun is really due rather to the motion of the earth.

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