To know the mighty works of God, to comprehend His wisdom and majesty and power; to appreciate, in degree, the wonderful workings of His laws, surely all this must be a pleasing and acceptable mode of worship to the Most High, to whom ignorance cannot be more grateful than knowledge.
Nicolaus CopernicusThose things which I am saying now may be obscure, yet they will be made clearer in their proper place.
Nicolaus CopernicusI shall now recall to mind that the motion of the heavenly bodies is circular, since the motion appropriate to a sphere is rotation in a circle.
Nicolaus CopernicusFor it is the duty of an astronomer to compose the history of the celestial motions through careful and expert study.
Nicolaus CopernicusSince, then, there is no objection to the mobility of the Earth, I think it must now be considered whether several motions are appropriate for it, so that it can be regarded as one of the wandering stars. For the fact that it is not the centre of all revolutions is made clear by the apparent irregular motion of the wandering stars, and their variable distances from the Earth, which cannot be understood in a circle having the same centre as the Earth.
Nicolaus Copernicus