Ode To Big Blue

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 Feeling “Lightfoot” lately The oceans of the world were the home of Big Blue He was the greatest monster that the world ever knew And the place that he loved best Was the waters to the west Around the blue Pacific he did roam Big Blue moved alone for a mighty blue was he And the battles of the whales was an awesome sight to see And he took them one by one and he drove them all away In the mating of the day he was the king Big Blue had fifty wives and he sired forty sons Though most of them fell victim to the cruel harpoon guns Ah but he was too much wise to get caught by the gunners' eyes And so he lived at sea a hundred years His mouth was as large as a tunnel so they say His hide was thick as leather and his eyes quick and small And his back was all scarred by the times he got away And he knew the smell of whalers did Big Blue Big Blue passed away to his natural decay Beside the Arctic Circle as he travelled up that way And there never was a man who was born with a gunner's

I did, but didn’t

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 I’d like to say I’ve finished reading “On The Revolutions Of The Heavenly Spheres,” by Copernicus (1473-1543), but I haven’t. I have, however, completed the “Dedication of the Revolutions of the Heavenly Bodies: to Pope Paul III” (1543), as well as the commentary and reading guide. A guided tour of the work seemed more suitable for this tired old man than an all-out trek. 


Copernicus knew he was onto something so controversial that the first printed copy of his work was not available until he was on his deathbed (note: the printing press was only 30 years old). The Dedication opens, “I can easily conceive, most Holy Father, that as soon as some people learn that in this book which I have written concerning the revolutions of the heavenly bodies, I ascribe certain motions to the Earth, they will cry out at once that I and my theory should be rejected. . . when I considered this carefully, the contempt which I had to fear because of the novelty and apparent absurdity of my view, nearly induced me to abandon utterly the work I had begun.” In other words, Copernicus proved the earth was not fixed nor do the heavens moved around it and he knew his findings would literally change the world. He only published with the support of scholar-friends. 


Copernicus makes it clear he wants to preserve orthodoxy while demonstrating where and how the math and science were wrong. His goal is to agree with The Great Architect while appealing to ancient scholars who also once held the same position. The reason he writes to the Pope is “so that by your authority and judgment you can easily suppress the bites of slanderers. . . “ The current science has not produced an accurate calendar, affecting the Church calendar; but, Copernicus offers that his science will bring stability to the Church. Overall, he knows he is breaking tradition and would rather offend science and not the Church. 

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