At Rest, However, In The Middle Of

The Massive Bulk Of The Earth Does Indeed Shrink To Insignificance In Comparison With The Size Of The Heavens.

Of All Things Visible, The Highest Is The Heaven Of The Fixed Stars.

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.

I Therefore Took This Opportunity And Also Began To Consider The Possibility That The Earth Moved. Although It Seemed An Absurd Opinion, Nevertheless, Because I Knew That Others Before Me Had Been Granted The Liberty Of Imagining Whatever Circles They Wished To Represent The Phenomena Of The Stars, I Thought That I Likewise Would Readily Be Allowed To Test Whether, By Assuming Some Motion Of The Earth's, More Dependable Representations Than Theirs Could Be Found For The Revolutions Of The Heavenly Spheres.

If There Be Some Who, Though Ignorant Of All Mathematics . . . Dare To Reprove This Work, Because Of Some Passage Of Scripture, Which They Have Miserably Warped To Their Purpose, I Regard Them Not, And Even Despise Their Rash Judgement.