The Gradual Acceptance of the Copernican Theory of the Universe

The Gradual Acceptance of the Copernican Theory of the Universe is by Dorothy Stimson, Ph.D., bears the year 1917, and is dedicated to the author's father and mother. The text asks why the heliocentric theory was not definitely accepted, and gives as one reason that such a theory was contrary to the supposed facts of daily existence. The text says a man did not have to be trained in the schools to observe that the earth seemed stable under his feet.

The text quotes a report that the Greeks ought to have prosecuted Aristarchus the Samian for blasphemy against religion, as shaking the very foundations of the world. The text quotes lines that say: Solicit not thy thoughts with matters hid, Leave them to God above, him serve and feare. The text reports a view that at one time the diffusion of the Copernican system was due more to the writings of Bishop Wilkins than to those of any one else, because their very extravagances drew stronger attention to it.