Nicolaus Copernicus

I have followed the advice of the ancients, who taught that one should seek the truth wherever it may be found.

The truth will set you free.

I have dedicated my life to the pursuit of knowledge.

The heavens declare the glory of God.

I have presented my arguments with all the clarity and precision that I am capable of.

I submit my work to the judgment of all learned men.

I hope that my work will be of some benefit to future generations.

Perhaps there will be babblers who, although completely ignorant of mathematics, nevertheless dare to pass judgment on this book, and, because of some passage of Scripture twisted to their purpose, will dare to censure and attack my work. I despise them.

For I am not so enamored of my own opinions that I would disregard what others may think of them.

Therefore, when I considered how absurd this teaching of the mathematicians was, who place the Earth at the center of the world, and how it was contrary to the common opinion of mankind, I was for a long time in doubt whether I should publish my commentaries.

So I took the trouble to read through the books of all the philosophers I could get hold of, to see if any of them had ever been of the opinion that the movements of the spheres were other than those assumed by the mathematicians.

The Earth, then, is not the center of all the revolutions, but only of the moon and of the sphere in which the moon is carried.

Finally, we shall place the Sun himself at the center of the Universe. All this is suggested by the order in which the planets follow each other and by the harmony of the entire Universe.

If indeed the motion of the Earth were perceptible, it would be a very great thing.

For it is not the business of the astronomer to know the true causes of things, but only to set forth such hypotheses as, being assumed, the motions may be accounted for.

Thus, the Earth, with its surrounding waters, is contained within the sphere of the Moon.

The universe is a sphere, whose center is everywhere and circumference nowhere.

For who would place a lamp in a better or more prominent place than in the very center, from which it can illuminate all others at the same time?

Therefore, I am not ashamed to confess that I have followed the example of the ancients in placing the Earth in motion.

Therefore, when I considered how absurd this teaching would appear to those who are unwilling to give up the accepted opinion, I hesitated for a long time whether I should publish my commentaries on the motion of the spheres, or whether it would be better to follow the example of the Pythagoreans and others who used to transmit the mysteries of philosophy not in writing but by word of mouth only to their kinsmen and friends.