Nicolaus Copernicus quotes

Born
19 February 1473, Toruń, Royal Prussia, Kingdom of Poland.

Died
24 May 1543.

Occupation
Mathematician, astronomer.

Nicolaus Copernicus was a Renaissance-era mathematician and astronomer.

Mathematics is written for mathematicians.
– Nicolaus Copernicus

Finally we shall place the Sun himself at the center of the Universe.
– Nicolaus Copernicus

To know that we know what we know, and to know that we do not know what we do not know, that is true knowledge.
– Nicolaus Copernicus

For I am not so enamoured of my own opinions that I disregard what others may think of them.
– Nicolaus Copernicus

Near the sun is the center of the universe.
– Nicolaus Copernicus

Yet if anyone believes that the earth rotates, surely he will hold that its motion is natural, not violent.
– Nicolaus Copernicus

Moreover, since the sun remains stationary, whatever appears as a motion of the sun is really due rather to the motion of the earth.
– Nicolaus Copernicus

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.
– Nicolaus Copernicus

The earth also is spherical, since it presses upon its center from every direction.
– Nicolaus Copernicus

Those things which I am saying now may be obscure, yet they will be made clearer in their proper place.
– Nicolaus Copernicus

Pouring forth its seas everywhere, then, the ocean envelops the earth and fills its deeper chasms.
– Nicolaus Copernicus

Therefore, having obtained the opportunity from these sources, I too began to consider the mobility of the earth.
– Nicolaus Copernicus

The massive bulk of the earth does indeed shrink to insignificance in comparison with the size of the heavens.
– Nicolaus Copernicus

Of all things visible, the highest is the heaven of the fixed stars.
– Nicolaus Copernicus

First of all, we must note that the universe is spherical.
– Nicolaus Copernicus

The earth together with its surrounding waters must in fact have such a shape as its shadow reveals, for it eclipses the moon with the arc of a perfect circle.
– Nicolaus Copernicus

In so many and such important ways, then, do the planets bear witness to the earth’s mobility.
– Nicolaus Copernicus

More stars in the north are seen not to set, while in the south certain stars are no longer seen to rise.
– Nicolaus Copernicus