Books · Sahitya - Literature

Copernicus and his world

Nicolaus Copernicus

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ShrutSangam GyanBhandars JainTatvaGyanshala

The Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus started the scientific revolution. Before Copernicus, Galileo was jailed and Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake for stating that Earth revolves around the sun. Copernicus knew they were right, but hesitated for thirty-six years before daring to print his observation. His books were listed on the church’s Index of banned books. Martin Luther the rebellious monk of Wittenberg, said about Copernicus: “The new astrologer who would prove that the earth moves, not the sky and the firmament, sun, and moon. The fool would like to reverse the whole art of astronomy! But it says in the Holy Writ that Joshua bade the sun stand still, not the earth!” Philip Melanchthon, the Praeceptor Germaniae, wrote: “Our eyes hear witness against Copernicus. Sensual perception speaks against him, the authority of the Bible speaks against him, and the one-thousand-year consensus of learned men. Therefore he is absurd.” Copernicus and his World is the rich biography of Nicolaus Copernicus and also an important historical document about the clash between science and religion. This version of the book is the scanned English translation published in 1945. Read more