Nations are not ruined by one act of violence, but gradually and in an almost imperceptible manner by the depreciation of their circulating currency, through its excessive quantity.
Nicolaus CopernicusRead
Yet if anyone believes that the earth rotates, surely he will hold that its motion is natural, not violent.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the naturalness of the Earth's rotation as perceived by those who understand its motion scientifically.
Nicolaus Copernicus, a pivotal figure in the history of science, asserts that understanding the Earth's rotation leads to the perception of its motion as a gentle, natural phenomenon rather than a violent one. This reflects the shift in perspective brought about by scientific reasoning, where observable truths replace earlier misconceptions about the cosmos.
Themes
EarthRotationNaturalMotionScience
In practice
Example use cases
In a science classroom while discussing planetary movements.
More from Nicolaus Copernicus
All quotes βSo far as hypotheses are concerned, let no one expect anything certain from astronomy, which cannot furnish it, lest he accept as the truth ideas conceived for another purpose, and depart from this study a greater fool than when he entered it.
Nicolaus CopernicusRead
So if the worth of the arts were measured by the matter with which they deal, this art-which some call astronomy, others astrology, and many of the ancients the consummation of mathematics-would be by far the most outstanding. This art which is as it were the head of all the liberal arts and the one most worthy of a free man leans upon nearly all the other branches of mathe matics. Arithmetic, geometry, optics, geodesy, mechanics, and whatever others, all offer themselves in its service.
Nicolaus CopernicusRead
Those who know that the consensus of many centuries has sanctioned the conception that the earth remains at rest in the middle of the heavens as its center, would, I reflected, regard it as an insane pronouncement if I made the opposite assertion that the earth moves.
Nicolaus CopernicusRead
The strongest affection and utmost zeal should, I think, promote the studies concerned with the most beautiful objects, most deserving to be known.
Nicolaus CopernicusRead
The massive bulk of the earth does indeed shrink to insignificance in comparison with the size of the heavens.
Nicolaus CopernicusRead
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