The Sleepwalkers (75 page)

Rheticus
stayed
with
him
from
the
summer
of
1540
to
September
1541.
He
spent
this
time
copying
out,
in
his
own
hand,
the
entire
manuscript
of
the
Revolutions
,
checking
and
correcting
dubious
figures,
and
making
various
minor
alterations.
⁵⁴
He
also
did
other
chores
for
his
master.
More
than
ten
years
earlier,
the
previous
Bishop
of
Ermland
had
asked
Canons
Koppernigk
and
Sculteti
to
draw
up
a
map
of
Prussia.
⁵⁵
Copernicus
had
started
on
the
task,
but
never
finished
it.
Rheticus
did
it
for
him;
and
since
he
was
an
incorrigible
enthusiast,
he
not
only
drew
up
a
map,
but
added
to
it
a
gazetteer
and
a
treatise
on
the
art
of
map-making.
He
sent
these
to
Duke
Albert
of
Prussia,
accompanied
by
a
letter
of
dedication,
in
which
he
took
pains
to
bring
in
a
reference
to
the
forthcoming
publication
of
his
Teacher's
magnum
opus
.

Rheticus
also
made
for
the
Duke
"a
little
instrument"
–
ein
Instrumentlein
–
"indicating
the
length
of
the
day
throughout
the
year".
The
Duke
thanked
him
warmly,
sent
him
a
Portugal
ducat
as
a
gift,
but
later
complained
that
he
could
not
make
head
or
tail
of
the
Instrumentlein
,
and
added
that
"in
my
opinion
the
master
goldsmith
who
made
it
did
not
show
much
subtlety."
He
asked
Rheticus
to
give
his,
the
Duke's
love
to
Luther,
Melanchton
and
all
other
German
Protestants
in
Wittenberg.
Throughout
these
amiable
transactions,
Rheticus
stubbornly
pursued
one
aim:
to
enlist
the
Duke's
support
for
the
publication
of
the
Revolutions
.
A
few
days
after
sending
off
the
map
and
the
Instrumentlein,
he
let
the
cat
out
of
the
bag:
he
asked
the
Duke
for
letters
to
the
Protestant
Elector
of
Saxony
and
to
the
University
of
Wittenberg,
recommending
that
Rheticus
should
be
permitted
to
put
the
book
of
Canon
Koppernigk
into
print.
The
reason
for
this
request
was
that
Rheticus
wanted
the
Revolutions
to
be
printed
in
the
famous
printing
shop
of
Petreius,
who
specialized
in
works
of
astronomy,
in
Lutheran
Nuremberg.
Since
Luther
and
Melanchton
were
opposed
to
the
Copernican
theory,
and
since
the
Duke
of
Prussia
carried
much
weight
in
the
Protestant
world,
it
might
be
just
as
well
to
have
his
support
in
writing.
The
Duke
willingly
complied;
but
owing
to
some
muddle
in
the
ducal
Chancellery,
the
two
identical
letters
to
Johan
Friedrich
of
Saxony,
and
to
the
University
of
Wittenberg,
recommended
that
Rheticus
should
be
given
permission
and
help
to
print
his
own
"admirable
book
on
astronomy".
Perhaps
the
scribe
in
the
Chancellery
thought
he
had
misunderstood
his
instructions,
for
no
astronomer
could
be
crazy
enough
to
want
to
publish
another
astronomer's
book.
However,
the
mistake
was
explained,
and
the
letters
had
their
effect.

In
August,
1541,
some
fifteen
months
after
Rheticus'
return
to
Frauenburg,
the
copying
of
the
424
pages
in
small
handwriting
was
completed;
with
the
priceless
text
in
his
bag,
the
faithful
disciple
once
more
rode
post-haste
across
Germany
back
to
Wittenberg,
to
arrive
in
time
for
the
beginning
of
the
winter
term.
He
would
have
preferred
to
go
straight
to
Nuremberg
and
to
start
with
the
printing,
which
could
not
be
done
without
his
personal
supervision.
But
he
had
been
absent
long
enough
from
his
duties;
moreover,
no
sooner
was
he
back,
he
was
elected
Dean
of
his
faculty
–
another
proof
of
the
large-mindedness
of
an
age
which,
alas,
was
now
approaching
its
end.

To
fill
in
the
time
of
waiting,
he
had
two
chapters
of
the
Revolutions
separately
printed
in
Wittenberg.
⁵⁶
They
were
chapters
dealing
with
trigonometry
in
general,
and
with
no
direct
bearing
on
the
Copernican
theory:
but
Rheticus
probably
thought
that
the
publication
of
this
small
treatise
might
help
to
draw
attention
to
his
Teacher
and
pave
the
way
for
the
magnum
opus
.
In
the
dedication,
he
congratulated
the
sixteenth
century
on
the
privilege
of
having
Copernicus
among
the
living.