Since my youth geography has been for me the primary object of study. When I was engaged in it, having applied the considerations of the natural and … - Gerardus Mercator

... spread on a plane the surface of a sphere in such a way that the positions of all places shall correspond on all sides with each other both in so far as true direction and distance are concerned and as concerns true longitudes and latitudes.

<small>D.O.M.S. GERARDVS MERCATOR HIC SITVS EST IVLIACENSIVM PROVINCIA ORDVNDVS NATVS RVOELMVNDÆ FLANDORVM AN. DNI. M. D. XII. V. MARTII CAROLI V. ROM. IMP. DOMESTICUS: GVLIELMI PATRIS AC JOAN GVLIEMI FIL. CLIVENS IVLIAC: ETC: DVUCUM COSMOGRAPHVS MATHEMATICORUM SVI TEMPORIS FACILE PRINCEPS QVI GLOBIS ARTIFICIOSIS RADIO DIMENSIS COELVM AC TERRAM INTERIVS ET EXTERIVS QVA LICVIT, DEMONSTRAVIT A VARIA DOCTRINA, THEOLOGIA IMPRIMIS LAVDATVS PIETATE VIRTVTE INTEGRITATE VITÆ MORVMQ(EU) COMITATE DEO ET HOMINIBVS CHARVS, VXORES BINAS HABVIT QUARVM PRIOR BARBARA SCHELLEKENS LOV ANIENSIS FÆMINA LECTISSIMA PROPE MARITVM SEPVLTA IPSI: TRES FILIOS TOTIDEMQ(UE) FILIAS PEPERIT. EX POSTERIORE VERO GERTRVDA VIRLINGS NVLLOS LIBEROS SVSCEPIT. AN. M. D. LII. LOV ANIO TEUTOBVRGVM VNA CVM FÆMINA HABITATVM VENIT VBI AN. M. D. XCIV. II. DECEMB. OBIIT. ÆTATIS LXXXII. At the base: AD LECTOREM. QUISQUIS ADES FRUSTRA METUIS NE FORTE SEPULTO / SIT MERCATORI TANTULA TERRA GRAVIS / OMNIS TERRA VIRO LEVIS EST QUI TOTA USQUAM TERRARUM EST HUMERIS PONDERA GESSIT ATLAS. On the cartouche: MEMORIÆ ET GRATITVDINIS ERGO HABERE DES HOC MONVMENTVM POSVERE.</small>

When I saw that Moses’ version of the Genesis of the world did not fit sufficiently in many ways with Aristotle and the rest of the philosophers, I began to have doubts about the truth of all philosophers and started to investigate the secrets of nature.