---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Harvey , Galileo , Copernicus do not seem…"
description: "\"Harvey , Galileo , Copernicus do not seem occult to us, but they did so to their contemporaries, hierophants of the mysteries of Natural Law, revealers..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/700/kenneth-rexroth-13529_age_harvey-galileo-copernicus-do-not-seem-oc_835414.jpg"
---

#  Harvey , Galileo , Copernicus do not seem occult to us…

![“Harvey , Galileo , Copernicus do not seem occult to us, but they did so to their contemporaries, hierophants of the mysteries of Natural Law, revealers of the secrets of a New Order of the Ages. After all, the movement eventually came to be called the Age of Enlightenment.” quote by Kenneth Rexroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/700/kenneth-rexroth-13529_age_harvey-galileo-copernicus-do-not-seem-oc_835414.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/700/kenneth-rexroth-13529_age_harvey-galileo-copernicus-do-not-seem-oc_835414.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/700/kenneth-rexroth-13529_age_harvey-galileo-copernicus-do-not-seem-oc_835414.jpg)

> “Harvey , Galileo , Copernicus do not seem occult to us, but they did so to their contemporaries, hierophants of the mysteries of Natural Law, revealers of the secrets of a New Order of the Ages. After all, the movement eventually came to be called the Age of Enlightenment.”

[Kenneth Rexroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Historical innovators were once seen as mystics; their ideas reshaped understanding of natural law, leading to the Enlightenment.

**In simple terms:** Old ideas seemed occult but sparked a new era.

Key Takeaway

Recognize that radical ideas may be misunderstood initially.

Themes

innovation history paradigm shift science

Mood

analytical historical

Type

critical inspirational

When to use this quote

- academic research
- scientific breakthroughs
- social reform
- education reform

Key Concepts

philosophy history of science cultural change

Questions to Reflect On

- How do societies decide which new ideas to accept?
- What makes an idea revolutionary?

A Different Perspective

Not all radical ideas succeed; some cause backlash.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Age of enlightenment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age-of-enlightenment/) [Buddhism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhism/) [Enlightenment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enlightenment/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movement/) [Mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystery/) [Natural law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural-law/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Occult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/occult/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/)

## Related quotes

> [Matter is real to my senses, but they aren't trustworthy. If Galileo or Copernicus had accepted what they saw, they would never have discovered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/matter-is-real-to-my-senses-but-they-aren-t-trustworthy-if-galileo-or/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

> [I think it's time we recognized the Dark Ages are over. Galileo and Copernicus have been proven right. The world is in fact round;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-shays/i-think-it-s-time-we-recognized-the-dark-ages-are-over-galileo-and/)

Chris Shays

> [Before anything else, we need a new age of Enlightenment. Our present political systems must relinquish their claims on truth, justice and freedom and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-d-rrenmatt/before-anything-else-we-need-a-new-age-of-enlightenment-our-present/)

[Friedrich Durrenmatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-d-rrenmatt/)

> [Since the so-called Age of Enlightenment, our shaky anthropocentric, rationalist egos have been brainwashed to forget what 'primitive' cultures once understood: Animals can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zeena-schreck/since-the-so-called-age-of-enlightenment-our-shaky-anthropocentric/)

[Zeena Schreck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zeena-schreck/)

> [“We are in the age of enlightenment of what environmental radiation is and what it is doing to all life on Earth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/we-are-in-the-age-of-enlightenment-of-what-environmental-radiation-is/)

[Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/)

> [You British plundered half the world for your own profit. Let's not pass it off as the Age of Enlightenment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-chayefsky/you-british-plundered-half-the-world-for-your-own-profit-let-s-not/)

[Paddy Chayefsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-chayefsky/)

> [Since my first discussions of ecological problems with Professor John Day around 1950 and since reading Konrad Lorenz's "King Solomon's Ring," I have become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-mcleod-cormack/since-my-first-discussions-of-ecological-problems-with-professor-john/)

Allan McLeod Cormack

> [I think there is going to be a large paradigm shift in a few years, and it could either be to a new age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-deacon/i-think-there-is-going-to-be-a-large-paradigm-shift-in-a-few-years/)

[Dan Deacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-deacon/)

> [One of the Age of Enlightenment's most hypnotic images is Ledoux's rendering of his neoclassical theater of 1775 - 1784 in Besancon, surreally reflected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-filler/one-of-the-age-of-enlightenment-s-most-hypnotic-images-is-ledoux-s/)

[Martin Filler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-filler/)

> [“When humanity finally emerges from the Middle Ages altogether, when he stops connecting psychic behavior with"the work of the Devil" or with some unknown,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-logan/when-humanity-finally-emerges-from-the-middle-ages-altogether-when-he/)

[Daniel Logan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-logan/)

> [Three hundred years ago, during the Age of Enlightenment, the coffee house became the center of innovation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-diamandis/three-hundred-years-ago-during-the-age-of-enlightenment-the-coffee/)

[Peter Diamandis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-diamandis/)

> [Instead of being at the mercy of wild beasts, earthquakes, landslides, and inundations, modern man is battered by the elemental forces of his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/instead-of-being-at-the-mercy-of-wild-beasts-earthquakes-landslides/)

[Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/)

> [We're in an age of enlightenment, and we have a choice as a society which path to take.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhys-ifans/we-re-in-an-age-of-enlightenment-and-we-have-a-choice-as-a-society/)

[Rhys Ifans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhys-ifans/)

> [“We have a choice to live in the Age of Enlightenment or the Age of Darkness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mommy-moo-moo/we-have-a-choice-to-live-in-the-age-of-enlightenment-or-the-age-of/)

Mommy Moo Moo

> [The world had seen so many Ages: the Age of Enlightenment; of Reformation; of Reason. Now, at last, the Age of Desire. And after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/the-world-had-seen-so-many-ages-the-age-of-enlightenment-of/)

[Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/)

## More by Kenneth Rexroth

> [I've had it with these cheap sons of bitches who claim they love poetry but never buy a book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/i-ve-had-it-with-these-cheap-sons-of-bitches-who-claim-they-love/)

[Kenneth Rexroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/)

> [“There are sparkles of rain on the bright Hair over your forehead; Your eyes are wet and your lips Wet and cold, your cheek…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/there-are-sparkles-of-rain-on-the-bright-hair-over-your-forehead-your/)

[Kenneth Rexroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/)

> [The basic line in any good verse is cadenced... building it around the natural breath structures of speech.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/the-basic-line-in-any-good-verse-is-cadenced-building-it-around-the/)

[Kenneth Rexroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/)

> [Maturity is having the ability to escape categorization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/maturity-is-having-the-ability-to-escape-categorization/)

[Kenneth Rexroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/)

> [The mature man lives quietly, does good privately, takes responsibility for his actions, treats others with friendliness and courtesy, finds mischief boring and avoids…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/the-mature-man-lives-quietly-does-good-privately-takes-responsibility/)

[Kenneth Rexroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/)

> [Erotic love is one of the highest forms of contemplation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/erotic-love-is-one-of-the-highest-forms-of-contemplation/)

[Kenneth Rexroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/)

> [Victorian society was homogeneous without being homogenized. It was, to paraphrase the epigram about Parliament, a society of extreme eccentrics who agreed so well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/victorian-society-was-homogeneous-without-being-homogenized-it-was-to/)

[Kenneth Rexroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/)

> [Crooked cards and straight whiskey, Slow horses and fast women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/crooked-cards-and-straight-whiskey-slow-horses-and-fast-women/)

[Kenneth Rexroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/)

> [“The mature man lives quietly, does good privately, assumes personal responsibility for his actions, treats others with friendliness and courtesy, finds mischief boring and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/the-mature-man-lives-quietly-does-good-privately-assumes-personal/)

[Kenneth Rexroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/)

> [“Imperceptible It withers in the world, This flower-like human heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/imperceptible-it-withers-in-the-world-this-flower-like-human-heart/)

[Kenneth Rexroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/)

> [The free, creative, loving people who shine so brightly in my memory of studios and coffee shops have become models for a huge section…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/the-free-creative-loving-people-who-shine-so-brightly-in-my-memory-of/)

[Kenneth Rexroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/)

> [Art is the reasoned derangement of the senses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/art-is-the-reasoned-derangement-of-the-senses/)

[Kenneth Rexroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/)

> [The moral issues with which Marcus struggles would be, as he points out, unchanged whether the universe were mechanical and devoid of meaning or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/the-moral-issues-with-which-marcus-struggles-would-be-as-he-points/)

[Kenneth Rexroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/)

> [You don't become a saint until you lead a good life whether in Tibet or Italy or America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/you-don-t-become-a-saint-until-you-lead-a-good-life-whether-in-tibet/)

[Kenneth Rexroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/)

> [“Man thrives where angels die of ecstasy and pigs die of disgust.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/man-thrives-where-angels-die-of-ecstasy-and-pigs-die-of-disgust/)

[Kenneth Rexroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/)

[Explore all 50 Kenneth Rexroth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/)

## More Age quotes

> [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/)

[Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/)

> [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/)

[Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/)

> [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/)

[Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/)

> [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/)

[Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/)

> [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/)

[Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/)

> [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/)

[Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/)

> [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/)

[Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/)

> [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/)

[Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/)

> [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/)

[Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/)

> [I calculated that if I live up to the age of 80, then I end up using 450 toothbrushes in my life. All that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-calculated-that-if-i-live-up-to-the-age-of-80-then-i-end-up-using/)

[Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/)

> [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/)

[Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/)

> [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/)

[Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/)

> [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/)

[Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/)

> [We have started to make music at age seven. That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/)

[Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/)

[Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Harvey , Galileo , Copernicus do not seem occult to us, but they did so to their contemporaries, hierophants of the mysteries of Natural Law, revealers of the secrets of a New Order of the Ages. After all, the movement eventually came to be called the Age of Enlightenment.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Kenneth Rexroth"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/harvey-galileo-copernicus-do-not-seem-occult-to-us-but-they-did-so-to/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Age"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/harvey-galileo-copernicus-do-not-seem-occult-to-us-but-they-did-so-to/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/700/kenneth-rexroth-13529_age_harvey-galileo-copernicus-do-not-seem-oc_835414.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/700/kenneth-rexroth-13529_age_harvey-galileo-copernicus-do-not-seem-oc_835414.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/700/kenneth-rexroth-13529_age_harvey-galileo-copernicus-do-not-seem-oc_835414.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Harvey , Galileo , Copernicus do not seem occult to us, but they did so to their contemporaries, hierophants…” — Kenneth Rexroth",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Kenneth Rexroth",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Harvey , Galileo , Copernicus do...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/harvey-galileo-copernicus-do-not-seem-occult-to-us-but-they-did-so-to/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/harvey-galileo-copernicus-do-not-seem-occult-to-us-but-they-did-so-to/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
