First critical edition of the work of Copernicus

De revolutionibus Orbium coelestium or "revolutions of the heavenly orbs", "is the fundamental book of Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543).

Father of heliocentrism Copernicus dislodged Earth and the central stationary position it occupied in the world according to medieval cosmological conception. It replaces this concept with that of Earth revolving around the sun set as immobile in the center of the world. Earth is no longer a planet among the others.

The impact of this work on our conception of the universe is resounding and lasting. Capital milestone in the history of science, he now has a critical edition with translation and commentary in French.

A long process ...

Published in three volumes in November 2015 to Belles Lettres, this edition is the result of a major work for nearly 40 years.

Work on the De revolutionibus {} was taken to the Paris Observatory by the team of "History of Ancient Astronomy" within the DANOF department, became SYRTE in 2000 by a group of researchers with different skills . Its original core, gathered around Jean-Pierre Verdet, included Michel-Pierre Lerner and Alain Segonds. Subsequently, Denis Savoie and Michel Toulmonde (researchers involved in Sirte) is joined them, and Concetta Luna and Isabelle Pantin.

It took unfortunately deplore the loss in 2011 of Alain Segonds, one of the key contributors to this publishing company and founder, the Belles Lettres, the Collection "Science & Humanism" in which it is published Copernicus.

The ceremony, held in the Cassini room, was an opportunity not only to salute the tremendous work done by the contributors, but also to pay tribute to Alain Segonds.

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Genesis publishing critical

It all started in 1972, as part of preparations for the celebration of the fifth centenary of the birth of Copernicus (1973).

The Polish Academy of Sciences is launching a major international project consisting essentially in the production of critical editions of the works of Copernicus (not just De revolutionibus {}) and translations into various languages.

France associates itself with this project with the support of CNRS and Paris Observatory.

The team of French researchers published initially, with the assistance of Henry Hugonnard-Roche, translations of the {} Commentariolus Copernicus and {} Narratio prima Rheticus, first presentation of the heliocentric theory published in 1540.

Regarding the critical edition of the Latin text and the French translation of De revolutionibus Orbium {{}} coelestium (Nuremberg, 1543), the problem was more complex.

The Polish critical edition of De revolutionibus {}, based on the autograph manuscript preserved Copernicus in Krakow, date 1975. The French team will make a different choice : instead to base the autograph version of De revolutionibus {} which was not used for the printing of the work, she decided to leave the text published in 1543 (reprinted in 1566 and 1617) without neglecting the autograph, using it especially where it brings non-offending text. The idea is also to publish important parts of the script that are not found in the first edition.

The establishment of the Latin text, its translation, comments : that was the main objective, but not the sole work of the team. It was also necessary to give the reader a comprehensive insight into the life of Copernicus, its activities and work in other fields as astronomy, the receipt of his major work until convicted in the early seventeenth century, etc.

The exemplary Copernicus

The Copernican revolution will have fundamental and lasting consequences on the idea that man is his place in the universe.

After Copernicus which postulates that man, driven by the Earth around the Sun, no longer occupies the center of the world (which remains unique to him), Giordano Bruno defended philosophically incredible thesis sheltering an infinite universe infinite worlds populated themselves as is the Earth. The man is no longer alone. What a revolution !

And then, the way was paved for Kepler, Newton, Laplace, and all the others that have advanced to this day our view of the universe.

It took a lot of stubbornness and courage to the canon Nicolas Copernicus to present and defend the heliocentric theory. Because it was opposed to the dominant vision of the world rooted in the philosophy of Aristotle and Ptolemy’s astronomy, and also seemed to contradict a truth revealed by holding the majority of theologians, both Catholic and Reformed : that God had created the immobile Earth at the center of the universe. Earth made by God for man, which would be in the heliocentric system, dislodged the place that He had assigned him : this is what Copernicus had the audacity to doubt by publishing false doctrine philosophically and contrary to the Scriptures !

About five centuries after the publication of De revolutionibus {} This editorial work is an opportunity to recall the importance of the intellectual legacy of Copernicus inspiration to all researchers who strive every day with courage against skepticism and misconceptions for the triumph of scientific truth ...