Nicolaus Copernicus – On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres

To Pope Paul III, asking him to protect him from vilification

Addresses the Pope Paul III and acknowledges that his statement will cause a lot of controversy

· Believes that false ideas should rebuked

· Philosopher’s ideas are “not subject to the judgment of ordinary persons”

“Id debated with myself for a long time whether to publish the volume which I wrote to prove the earth’s motion or rather to follow the example of Pythagoreans and others”

· Pytagoreans – spread knowledge or “philosophy’s secrets” only to kinsmen and by mouth

o The were “jealous about their teachings”

o Didn’t want their ideas to be ridiculed

· “they played the same part among philosophers as drones among bees”

o compares “dull minded” people to drone bees

Tells about friends who encouraged him to publish his works

· cardinal of Capua, Schonberg and Tiedemann Giese

· “the crazier my doctrine of the earth’s motion now appeared to most people…so much the more admiration and thanks would it gain”

o ended up publishing it asking Pope Paul

Read over ancient texts to determine the motion of the Earth

· Cicero, Plutarch, etc.

Explains his book to Pope Paul III

· Found that going by the traditional view of Earth being the center of the universe, all the other motions of the “heavenly spheres” would not make sense

· Earth is also in motion

Confident – “I have no doubt that acute and leaned astronomers will agree with me if, as this discipline especially requires, they are willing to examine and consider, not superficially but thoroughly”

· “astronomy is written for astronomers – to them my work too will seem, unless I am mistaken, to make some contribution”