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
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the societal reluctance to accept revolutionary ideas that contradict long-held beliefs.
Nicolaus Copernicus reflects on the historical consensus regarding the position of the Earth in the universe, noting how deeply embedded beliefs can cause resistance to new ideas. He suggests that challenging the prevailing notion that the Earth is the center of the cosmos would be viewed as madness, illustrating the struggle between established doctrine and scientific discovery.
Themes
EarthScienceBeliefsCosmosTruth
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture on revolutionary scientific theories, one might use this quote to illustrate the challenge of introducing new ideas.
More from Nicolaus Copernicus
All quotes →So 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
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
So, influenced by these advisors and this hope, I have at length allowed my friends to publish the work, as they had long besought me to do.
Nicolaus CopernicusRead
Similar quotes
It's very important for us to see that science is done by people, not just brains but whole human beings, and sometimes at great cost.
Alan AldaRead
Enormous numbers of people are taken in, or at least beguiled and fascinated, by what seems to me to be unbelievable hocum, and relatively few are concerned with or thrilled by the astounding-yet true-facts of science, as put forth in the pages of, say, Scientific American.
Douglas HofstadterRead
Computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes.
Edsger DijkstraRead
Discover the force of the skies O Men: once recognised it can be put to use.
Johannes KeplerRead
As a Christian, but also as a scientist responsible for overseeing the Human Genome Project, one of my concerns has been the limits on applications of our understanding of the genome. Should there be limits? I think there should. I think the public has expressed their concern about ways this information might be misused.
Francis CollinsRead
Dissent is the native activity of the scientist, and it has got him into a good deal of trouble in the last years. But if that is cut off, what is left will not be a scientist. And I doubt whether it will be a man.
Jacob BronowskiRead