--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Among the authorities it is generally…" description: "\"Among the authorities it is generally agreed that the Earth is at rest in the middle of the universe, and they regard it as inconceivable and even ridi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/302/nicolaus-copernicus-10074_authority_among-the-authorities-it-is-generally-ag_265302.jpg" --- # Among the authorities it is generally agreed that the… ![“Among the authorities it is generally agreed that the Earth is at rest in the middle of the universe, and they regard it as inconceivable and even ridiculous to hold the opposite opinion. However, if we consider it more closely the question will be seen to be still unsettled, and so decidedly not…” quote by Nicolaus Copernicus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/302/nicolaus-copernicus-10074_authority_among-the-authorities-it-is-generally-ag_265302.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/302/nicolaus-copernicus-10074_authority_among-the-authorities-it-is-generally-ag_265302.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/302/nicolaus-copernicus-10074_authority_among-the-authorities-it-is-generally-ag_265302.jpg) > “Among the authorities it is generally agreed that the Earth is at rest in the middle of the universe, and they regard it as inconceivable and even ridiculous to hold the opposite opinion. However, if we consider it more closely the question will be seen to be still unsettled, and so decidedly not to be despised. For every apparent change in respect of position is due to motion of the object observed, or of the observer, or indeed to an unequal change of both.” [Nicolaus Copernicus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolaus-copernicus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The belief that Earth is stationary is widely accepted, yet observations of relative motion suggest the question remains unsettled and deserves open inquiry. **In simple terms:** Earth’s motion is still debated. Key Takeaway Remain open to revisiting established beliefs. Themes science cosmology skepticism observation paradigm shift Mood inquisitive analytical Type scientific philosophical When to use this quote - academic research - educational curricula - public discourse Key Concepts philosophy of science epistemology astronomy Questions to Reflect On - What evidence could shift current cosmological views? - How do we balance skepticism with scientific authority? A Different Perspective Scientific consensus can be useful for progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Agreed Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agreed-earth-2606901/) [Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority/) [Despised](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despised/) [Dues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dues/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Earth Rest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth-rest-2606903/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Middle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle/) [Middle Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-universe-2606900/) [Objects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/objects/) [Observers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/observers/) [Opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion/) [Opposites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposites/) [Position](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/position/) [Regard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regard/) [Ridiculous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ridiculous/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) [Universe Regard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe-regard-2606902/) ## Related quotes > [“Heaven is my father and Earth is my mother and even such a small creature as I finds an intimate place in their midst.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-evelyn-tucker/heaven-is-my-father-and-earth-is-my-mother-and-even-such-a-small/) [Mary Evelyn Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-evelyn-tucker/) > [The middle of the universe is tonight, is here, And everything behind is a sunk cost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-keegan/the-middle-of-the-universe-is-tonight-is-here-and-everything-behind/) [Marina Keegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-keegan/) > [“Upon the earth I rest, like the trees of autumn on a bed of leafy gold, nourished by roots of old.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atalina-wright/upon-the-earth-i-rest-like-the-trees-of-autumn-on-a-bed-of-leafy-gold/) [Atalina Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atalina-wright/) > [“Give me a place outside the earth on which to rest my lever, and I will move the world. 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C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [“He had despised that Mary with her idiot smile, symbol of a story that meant nothing, servant of a God who no good to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-hill/he-had-despised-that-mary-with-her-idiot-smile-symbol-of-a-story-that/) [Joe Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-hill/) > [You are still despised and mocked, A man too weak and infirm to be God, A God too much man to call forth adoration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil/you-are-still-despised-and-mocked-a-man-too-weak-and-infirm-to-be-god/) [Khalil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil/) > [He lacked tenderness; he was rude; and he had more than a streak of cruelty in him; he was a thief and a liar.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/he-lacked-tenderness-he-was-rude-and-he-had-more-than-a-streak-of/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) ## More by Nicolaus Copernicus > [In the center of all rests the sun. For who would place this lamp of a very beautiful temple in another or better place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolaus-copernicus/in-the-center-of-all-rests-the-sun-for-who-would-place-this-lamp-of-a/) [Nicolaus Copernicus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolaus-copernicus/) > [Hence I feel no shame in asserting that this whole region engirdled by the moon, and the center of the earth, traverse this grand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolaus-copernicus/hence-i-feel-no-shame-in-asserting-that-this-whole-region-engirdled/) [Nicolaus Copernicus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolaus-copernicus/) > [Those who know that the consensus of many centuries has sanctioned the conception that the earth remains at rest in the middle of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolaus-copernicus/those-who-know-that-the-consensus-of-many-centuries-has-sanctioned/) [Nicolaus Copernicus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolaus-copernicus/) > [The two revolutions, I mean the annual revolutions of the declination and of the centre of the Earth, are not completely equal; that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolaus-copernicus/the-two-revolutions-i-mean-the-annual-revolutions-of-the-declination/) [Nicolaus Copernicus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolaus-copernicus/) > [The Universe has been wrought for us by a supremely good and orderly Creator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolaus-copernicus/the-universe-has-been-wrought-for-us-by-a-supremely-good-and-orderly/) [Nicolaus Copernicus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolaus-copernicus/) > [If there should chance to be any mathematicians who, ignorant in mathematics yet pretending to skill in that science, should dare, upon the authority…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolaus-copernicus/if-there-should-chance-to-be-any-mathematicians-who-ignorant-in/) [Nicolaus Copernicus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolaus-copernicus/) > [Although all the good arts serve to draw man's mind away from vices and lead it toward better things, this function can be more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolaus-copernicus/although-all-the-good-arts-serve-to-draw-man-s-mind-away-from-vices/) [Nicolaus Copernicus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolaus-copernicus/) > [For I am not so enamoured of my own opinions that I disregard what others may think of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolaus-copernicus/for-i-am-not-so-enamoured-of-my-own-opinions-that-i-disregard-what/) [Nicolaus Copernicus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolaus-copernicus/) > [In the first book I shall describe all the positions of the spheres, along with the motions which I attribute to the Earth, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolaus-copernicus/in-the-first-book-i-shall-describe-all-the-positions-of-the-spheres/) [Nicolaus Copernicus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolaus-copernicus/) > [I therefore took this opportunity and also began to consider the possibility that the Earth moved. 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