[If the earth rotated,] buildings and the earth itself would fly off with such rapid motion that men would have to be provided with claws like cats to enable them to hold fast to the earth’s surface.

—Libertus Fromondus

Certain men … have concluded that the earth moves. It is a want of honesty and decency to assert such notions publicly …

—Melanchton

• Tried by the Inquisition, forced to recant his beliefs, and placed under house arrest for life

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References:

• “claws like cats”
• “want of honesty”