The Sleepwalkers (74 page)

"Pindar
celebrates
in
an
ode
–
which
was
reportedly
written
in
golden
letters
on
a
tablet
and
exhibited
in
the
Temple
of
Minerva
–
the
prowess
of
Dyagoras
of
Rhodes
who
won
the
boxing
competition
at
the
Olympic
Games.
The
ode
calls
the
island
of
Rhodes
a
daughter
of
Venus,
and
the
beloved
wife
of
the
Sun.
Jupiter,
it
says,
let
much
gold
rain
on
Rhodes
because
its
people
worshipped
his
daughter
Minerva.
For
the
same
reason
Minerva
herself
made
the
Rhodeans
famous
for
their
wisdom
and
education
to
which
they
were
devoted.
I
am
not
aware
of
any
country
in
our
days
more
suited
to
inherit
the
ancient
fame
of
the
Rhodeans
than
Prussia"

–
and
so
on.
⁵²
The
concoction
is
of
interest
only
because
of
its
description
of
Giese's
struggles
with
Copernicus,
and
because
of
its
revealing
omissions.
It
includes
a
eulogy
on
Giese
in
which
the
Apostle
Paul
is
invoked,
and
another
eulogy
on
the
Mayor
of
Danzig,
who
is
compared
to
Achilles;
also
a
description
of
Giese's
astronomical
instruments:
an
armillary
sphere
made
of
bronze,
and
"a
truly
princely
gnomon
[sundial]
which
he
had
brought
from
England
and
which
I
contemplated
with
the
greatest
delight."
⁵³
But
there
is
no
mention
of
Copernicus'
instruments.
Nor
of
his
observatory;
nor
where
or
how
he
lives;
nor
what
he
is
like.

To
appreciate
the
paradox
of
this
silence,
it
must
be
borne
in
mind
that
the
book
represents
Rheticus'
account
of
his
pilgrimage
to
Copernicus,
in
a
letter
addressed
to
his
former
teacher
in
Nuremberg.
One
can
hear
the
addressee's
indignant
exclamations:
"But
where
does
he
live,
this
new
master
of
yours?
How
old
is
he?
What
is
he
like?
What
instruments
does
he
use?
You
say
that
this
Bishop
has
a
gnomon
and
an
armillary
sphere
–
but
what
has
he
got?"
The
reason
for
these
glaring
omissions
was
probably
the
same
which
compelled
Rheticus
to
omit
mentioning
"my
learned
Master"
by
name:
Copernicus'
mania
for
secrecy.
It
cannot
be
explained
by
sensible
caution,
for
if
anybody
wished
to
persecute
the
anonymous
astronomer
of
Ermland,
he
would
have
had
no
difficulty
in
identifying
Canon
Nicolai
of
Torun.

11.
Preparations for the Printing

Rheticus
wrote
the
narratio
prima
under
the
watchful
eyes
of
Copernicus.
From
Loebau
Castle,
master
and
disciple
had
returned
to
Frauenburg,
from
where
the
narratio
is
dated:
23
September,
A.D.
1539.
When
the
manuscript
was
finished,
Rheticus
went
off
to
Danzig,
where
the
nearest
printing
press
could
be
found,
to
have
it
published.

The
first
copies
of
the
first
printed
account
of
the
Copernican
system
were
dispatched
from
Danzig
in
February,
1540.
Melanchton
received
one
of
them;
another
copy
was
sent,
by
Giese,
to
the
Protestant
Duke
Albert
of
Prussia,
who
subsequently
did
much
to
help
promoting
the
Copernican
system.
Rheticus
also
sent
a
copy
to
a
scholarly
friend
of
his,
by
name
of
Achilles
Perminius
Gassarus,
who
at
once
caught
fire
and
arranged
for
an
independent
edition
of
the
book
to
be
printed
in
Basle,
only
a
few
weeks
after
the
Danzig
edition
had
come
out.
Thus
the
narratio
prima
made
its
inroads
simultaneously
from
the
North
and
the
South,
and
it
caused
a
certain
stir
in
the
learned
world.
The
gentle
Giese
was
no
longer
alone
in
pleading
with
his
obstinate
friend;
Canon
Koppernigk
was
urged
from
every
side
to
publish
his
book.

He
held
out
for
another
six
months.
He
probably
thought
of
more
subterfuges
and
evasions.
Yet,
once
he
had
permitted
that
a
resumé
of
his
manuscript
be
published
by
another
hand,
his
continued
refusal
to
have
the
manuscript
itself
printed
would
have
exposed
him
to
an
even
greater
risk
of
ridicule
than
publication
could
entail.

As
soon
as
the
printing
of
the
narratio
was
completed,
Rheticus
had
hurried
back
from
Danzig
to
Wittenberg,
to
resume
his
lectures
at
the
University.
When
the
summer
term
ended,
he
rushed
again
to
Frauenburg,
at
the
opposite
end
of
Germany,
ostensibly
for
the
purpose
of
adding
a
"Second
Account"
to
the
"First".
In
fact,
he
was
preparing
the
final
onslaught
on
Copernicus,
which
would
wrest
the
Revolutions
from
his
trembling
hands.
This
time
he
succeeded.
Some
time
after
Rheticus'
second
arrival
at
Frauenburg,
Canon
Koppernigk's
resistance
at
long
last
collapsed.