Of All Things Visible, The Highest Is

Moreover, Since The Sun Remains Stationary, Whatever Appears As A Motion Of The Sun Is Really Due Rather To The Motion Of The Earth.

In So Many And Such Important Ways, Then, Do The Planets Bear Witness To The Earth's Mobility.

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.

Accordingly, Since Nothing Prevents The Earth From Moving, I Suggest That We Should Now Consider Also Whether Several Motions Suit It, So That It Can Be Regarded As One Of The Planets. For, It Is Not The Center Of All The Revolutions.

Therefore I Would Not Have It Unknown To Your Holiness, The The Only Thing Which Induced Me To Look For Another Way Of Reckoning The Movements Of The Heavenly Bodies Was That I Knew That Mathematicians By No Means Agree In Their Investigation Thereof.