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
Therefore, when I considered this carefully, the contempt which I had to fear because of the novelty and apparent absurdity of my view, nearly induced me to abandon utterly the work I had begun.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Copernicus reflects on the challenge of presenting his revolutionary ideas that faced skepticism and ridicule.
In this quote, Nicolaus Copernicus expresses the internal struggle he faced when introducing his groundbreaking heliocentric theory. He acknowledges the fear of contempt and rejection due to the novelty and seemingly absurd nature of his ideas, suggesting that such opposition nearly deterred him from pursuing his work. This highlights the challenges faced by innovators and thinkers who confront established beliefs and the societal pressures that can impede scientific progress.
Themes
Scientific RevolutionHeliocentric TheoryInnovationSkepticismFear Of Rejection
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech about the importance of pursuing innovative ideas despite fears of criticism.
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
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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