Mrs. Eddy Mentioned Them August 27, 1955 Issue

Nicolaus Copernicus, 1473-1543

[Mentioned in Science and Health, p. 121, and No and Yes, p. 6]

Copernicus' teaching that the sun, not the earth, is the center of the universe and that the earth as a planet not only rotates on its axis but also moves around the sun put an end to the Ptolemaic theory and the medieval system of thought. His treatise on astronomy, "The Revolution of the Celestial Orbs" (6 books), was not published till the close of his life and then only at the insistence of his pupil Rheticus, a protégé of Melanchthon.

When Copernicus was 10, his father died, and an uncle who was a bishop took over the direction of the boy's education. Copernicus continued his schooling in Thorn, a Polish town on the Vistula, until he was 18 and then went to the University of Cracow. Some of his books have been preserved from those days and bear jottings which indicate that his interest in astronomy was already awakened. While Copernicus was at Cracow, Columbus discovered America.

Meanwhile the bishop was unsuccessful in securing a canonry for his nephew. So Copernicus traveled to Bologna to study law. During his 31/2 years there, he assisted the astronomer da Novara. Then Copernicus went to Rome, where he taught mathematics and probably set forth some of his views regarding the universe. Although elected a canon of the cathedral at Frauenburg, he immediately obtained a leave of absence to study canon law at Ferrara and medicine at Padua. When he returned to take up his duties after almost 10 years of study in Italy, he was one of the best-educated men of his time.

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