Selection a Copernicus (1473-1543): an Unintentional Heretic

Essay

Selection A Copernicus (1473-1543): An Unintentional Heretic *
The first fruit of the new concern with mathematics and experimentation in the sixteenth century was the work of the Polish priest and astronomer Nicholas Copernicus , who in fact had no intention of making an aggressive attack on the received ideas of his day.In his On the Revolution of the Heavenly Bodies , published in 1543 and dedicated to the pope, Copernicus generally accepted the traditional conception of a finite universe characterized by a series of heavens, the moon, the planets, and the fixed stars.Copernicus' innovation was to substitute the sun for the earth at the center of the universe .For him the earth became one of the planets and, like other bodies, circulated around the center .Copernicus' primary reason for switching the position of the sun and earth was that this conception furnished a better explanation of the observed motions of the heavens , reducing the need to ascribe exceptional movements to individual bodies as in the earth-centered theory.According to the deeply religious Copernicus , the ability of his sun-centered theory to explain the appearances and to show heavenly motion to be simple and regular magnified the perfection of the divine creator .Copernicus presented his ideas as a hypothesis ; but over succeeding decades, as new observations were recorded and found to support it, some thinkers came to insist that the theory was proved .The ancient picture of the universe gradually disintegrated .
Adapted from Mary Ann Frese Witt et al., The Humanities.
Vol.II, 5th ed.Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997, p.131.
* heretic: person who challenges religious law or tradition
Selection B Copernicus (1473-1543): An Unintentional Heretic
The first fruit of the new concern with mathematics and experimentation in the sixteenth century was the work of the Polish priest and astronomer Nicholas Copernicus , who in fact had no intention of making an aggressive attack on the received ideas of his day.In his On the Revolution of the Heavenly Bodies, published in 1543 and dedicated to the pope, Copernicus generally accepted the traditional conception of a finite universe characterized by a series of heavens, the moon, the planets, and the fixed stars.Copernicus' innovation was to substitute the sun for the earth at the center of the universe .For him the earth became one of the planets and, like other bodies, circulated around the center .Copernicus' primary reason for switching the position of the sun and earth was that this conception furnished a better explanation of the observed motions of the heavens, reducing the need to ascribe exceptional movements to individual bodies as in the earth-centered theory.According to the deeply religious Copernicus, the ability of his sun-centered theory to explain the appearances and to show heavenly motion to be simple and regular magnified the perfection of the divine creator .Copernicus presented his ideas as a hypothesis ; but over succeeding decades, as new observations were recorded and found to support it, some thinkers came to insist that the theory was proved.The ancient picture of the universe gradually disintegrated .
Selection C Copernicus (1473-1543): An Unintentional Heretic
The first fruit of the new concern with mathematics and experimentation in the sixteenth century was the work of the Polish priest and astronomer Nicholas Copernicus , who in fact had no intention of making an aggressive attack on the received ideas of his day.In his On the Revolution of the Heavenly Bodies , published in 1543 and dedicated to the pope, Copernicus generally accepted the traditional conception of a finite universe characterized by a series of heavens, the moon, the planets, and the fixed stars.Copernicus' innovation was to substitute the sun for the earth at the center of the universe .For him the earth became one of the planets and, like other bodies, circulated around the center.Copernicus' primary reason for switching the position of the sun and earth was that this conception furnished a better explanation of the observed motions of the heavens , reducing the need to ascribe exceptional movements to individual bodies as in the earth-centered theory.According to the deeply religious Copernicus, the ability of his sun-centered theory to explain the appearances and to show heavenly motion to be simple and regular magnified the perfection of the divine creator .Copernicus presented his ideas as a hypothesis ; but over succeeding decades, as new observations were recorded and found to support it, some thinkers came to insist that the theory was proved.The ancient picture of the universe gradually disintegrated .
Selection _______ _ is effectively underlined.
Selection _______ _ is underlined too much.
Selection _______ _ is not underlined enough.