By Denying Scientific Principles, One May Maintain

If You Could See The Earth Illuminated When You Were In A Place As Dark As Night, It Would Look To You More Splendid Than The Moon.

In My Studies Of Astronomy And Philosophy I Hold This Opinion About The Universe, That The Sun Remains Fixed In The Centre Of The Circle Of Heavenly Bodies, Without Changing Its Place; And The Earth, Turning Upon Itself, Moves Round The Sun.

The Milky Way Is Nothing Else But A Mass Of Innumerable Stars Planted Together In Clusters.

If There Were As Great A Scarcity Of Soil As Of Jewels Or Precious Metals, There Would Not Be A Prince Who Would Not Spend A Bushel Of Diamonds And Rubies And A Cartload Of Gold Just To Have Enough Earth To Plant A Jasmine In A Little Pot, Or To Sow An Orange Seed And Watch It Sprout, Grow, And Produce Its Handsome Leaves, Its Fragrant Flowers, And Fine Fruit.

Some, Merely To Contradict What I Had Said, Did Not Scruple To Cast Doubt Upon Things They Had Seen With Their Own Eyes Again And Again.