Great Astronomers
(Nicolaus Copernicus)
Robert Stawell Ball
- Copernicus,
- the
- astronomer,
- whose
- discoveries
- make
- him
- the
- great
- predecessor
- of
- Kepler
- and
- Newton,
- did
- not
- come
- from
- a
- noble
- family,
- as
- certain
- other
- early
- astronomers
- have
- done,
- for
- his
- father
- was
- a
- tradesman.
- Chroniclers
- are,
- however,
- careful
- to
- tell
- us
- that
- one
- of
- his
- uncles
- was
- a
- bishop.
- We
- are
- not
- acquainted
- with
- any
- of
- those
- details
- of
- his
- childhood
- or
- youth
- which
- are
- often
- of
- such
- interest
- in
- other
- cases
- where
- men
- have
- risen
- to
- exalted
- fame.
- It
- would
- appear
- that
- the
- young
- Nicolaus,
- for
- such
- was
- his
- Christian
- name,
- received
- his
- education
- at
- home
- until
- such
- time
- as
- he
- was
- deemed
- sufficiently
- advanced
- to
- be
- sent
- to
- the
- University
- at
- Cracow.
- The
- education
- that
- he
- there
- obtained
- must
- have
- been
- in
- those
- days
- of
- a
- very
- primitive
- description,
- but
- Copernicus
- seems
- to
- have
- availed
- himself
- of
- it
- to
- the
- utmost.
- He
- devoted
- himself
- more
- particularly
- to
- the
- study
- of
- medicine,
- with
- the
- view
- of
- adopting
- its
- practice
- as
- the
- profession
- of
- his
- life.
- The
- tendencies
- of
- the
- future
- astronomer
- were,
- however,
- revealed
- in
- the
- fact
- that
- he
- worked
- hard
- at
- mathematics,
- and,
- like
- one
- of
- his
- illustrious
- successors,
- Galileo,
- the
- practice
- of
- the
- art
- of
- painting
- had
- for
- him
- a
- very
- great
- interest,
- and
- in
- it
- he
- obtained
- some
- measure
- of
- success.
- By
- the
- time
- he
- was
- twenty-seven
- years
- old,
- it
- would
- seem
- that
- Copernicus
- had
- given
- up
- the
- notion
- of
- becoming
- a
- medical
- practitioner,
- and
- had
- resolved
- to
- devote
- himself
- to
- science.
- He
- was
- engaged
- in
- teaching
- mathematics,
- and
- appears
- to
- have
- acquired
- some
- reputation.
- His
- growing
- fame
- attracted
- the
- notice
- of
- his
- uncle
- the
- bishop,
- at
- whose
- suggestion
- Copernicus
- took
- holy
- orders,
- and
- he
- was
- presently
- appointed
- to
- a
- canonry
- in
- the
- cathedral
- of
- Frauenhurg,
- near
- the
- mouth
- of
- the
- Vistula.
- To
- Frauenburg,
- accordingly,
- this
- man
- of
- varied
- gifts
- retired.
- Possessing
- somewhat
- of
- the
- ascetic
- spirit,
- he
- resolved
- to
- devote
- his
- life
- to
- work
- of
- the
- most
- serious
- description.
- He
- eschewed
- all
- ordinary
- society,
- restricting
- his
- intimacies
- to
- very
- grave
- and
- learned
- companions,
- and
- refusing
- to
- engage
- in
- conversation
- of
- any
- useless
- kind.
- It
- would
- seem
- as
- if
- his
- gifts
- for
- painting
- were
- condemned
- as
- frivolous;
- at
- all
- events,
- we
- do
- not
- learn
- that
- he
- continued
- to
- practise
- them.
- In
- addition
- to
- the
- discharge
- of
- his
- theological
- duties,
- his
- life
- was
- occupied
- partly
- in
- ministering
- medically
- to
- the
- wants
- of
- the
- poor,
- and
- partly
- with
- his
- researches
- in
- astronomy
- and
- mathematics.
- His
- equipment
- in
- the
- matter
- of
- instruments
- for
- the
- study
- of
- the
- heavens
- seems
- to
- have
- been
- of
- a
- very
- meagre
- description.
- He
- arranged
- apertures
- in
- the
- walls
- of
- his
- house
- at
- Allenstein,
- so
- that
- he
- could
- observe
- in
- some
- fashion
- the
- passage
- of
- the
- stars
- across
- the
- meridian.
- That
- he
- possessed
- some
- talent
- for
- practical
- mechanics
- is
- proved
- by
- his
- construction
- of
- a
- contrivance
- for
- raising
- water
- from
- a
- stream,
- for
- the
- use
- of
- the
- inhabitants
- of
- Frauenburg.
- Relics
- of
- this
- machine
- are
- still
- to
- be
- Been.
- The
- intellectual
- slumber
- of
- the
- Middle
- Ages
- was
- destined
- to
- be
- awakened
- by
- the
- revolutionary
- doctrines
- of
- Copernicus.
- It
- may
- be
- noted,
- as
- an
- interesting
- circumstance,
- that
- the
- time
- at
- which
- he
- discovered
- the
- scheme
- of
- the
- solar
- system
- has
- coincided
- with
- a
- remarkable
- epoch
- in
- the
- world's
- history.
- The
- great
- astronomer
- had
- just
- reached
- manhood
- at
- the
- time
- when
- Columbus
- discovered
- the
- new
- world.
- Before
- the
- publication
- of
- the
- researches
- of
- Copernicus,
- the
- orthodox
- scientific
- creed
- averred
- that
- the
- earth
- was
- stationary,
- and
- that
- the
- apparent
- movements
- of
- the
- heavenly
- bodies
- were
- indeed
- real
- movements.
- Ptolemy
- had
- laid
- down
- this
- doctrine
- 1,400
- years
- before.
- In
- his
- theory
- this
- huge
- error
- was
- associated
- with
- so
- much
- important
- truth,
- and
- the
- whole
- presented
- such
- a
- coherent
- scheme
- for
- the
- explanation
- of
- the
- heavenly
- movements,
- that
- the
- Ptolemaic
- theory
- was
- not
- seriously
- questioned
- until
- the
- great
- work
- of
- Copernicus
- appeared.
- No
- doubt
- others,
- before
- Copernicus,
- had
- from
- time
- to
- time
- in
- some
- vague
- fashion
- surmised,
- with
- more
- or
- less
- plausibility,
- that
- the sun..
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