134 SCIENCE AND IMMORTALITY 



mobility of the sun, entirely opposed to Holy 

 writ, which is taught by Nicholas Copernicus, is 

 now published abroad and received by many : In 

 order that this opinion may not further spread, 

 to the damage of Catholic truth, it is ordered 

 that this and all other books teaching the like 

 doctrine be suspended, and by this decree they 

 are all respectively suspended, forbidden, and 

 condemned." 



Later, as is well known, Galileo Galilei was 

 compelled to recant and curse his abominable 

 heretical doctrine that the Earth moved ; and even 

 as late as 1751 the great naturalist Buffon had to 

 publicly declare : " I abandon everything in my 

 book respecting the formation of the earth, and 

 generally everything which may be contrary to the 

 narrative of Moses." 



In this twentieth century, however, the move- 

 ment of the Earth and its position among the 

 other planets is a matter of common knowledge. 



We will now give a brief sketch of what is at 

 this time known or believed about the Earth. 

 The Earth is now known to be one of a group of 

 planets which spin on their axes and revolve round 

 the Sun, and which are named collectively the 

 Solar System. All the planets of the system 

 revolve more or less in the same plane, and there 

 is little doubt that millions of years ago they were 



