ly
dangerous. There would be a bonfire of every copy in the public square;
for in this volume, all that the priests taught of astronomy had been
contradicted and refuted.

And then it occurred to him to send the manuscript to the free city of
Nuremberg, the home of science, art and free speech, where men could
print what they thought was truth--Nuremberg, the home of Albrecht
Durer. With the book he sent a bag of gold, his savings of a lifetime,
to pay the expense of printing the volume and putting it before the
world.

To better protect himself, Copernicus wrote a preface, dedicating the
book to the Pope Paul, thus throwing himself upon the mercy of His
Holiness. He would not put the work out anonymously, as his friends in
Nuremberg, for his own safety, had advised. And neither would he flee to
Nuremberg for protection; he would stay at home--he was too old to
travel now--besides, he had forgotten how to talk and act with men of
talent.

How would Rome receive the book? He could only guess--he could only
guess.

The months went by, and fear, anxiety and suspense had their sway. He
was stricken with fever. In his delirium he called aloud, "The
book--tell me--they surely have not burned it--you know I wrote no word
but truth--oh, how could they burn my book!"

But on May Twenty-third, Fifteen Hundred Forty-three, a messenger came
from Nuremberg.

He carried a copy of the printed book--he was admitted to the sick-room,
and placed in the hands of the stricken man the volume. A gleam of
sanity came to Copernicus. He smiled, and taking the book gazed upon it,
stroked its cover as though caressing it, opened it and turned the
leaves. Then closing the book and holding it to his heart, he closed his
eyes, and sank to sleep, to awake no more.

His body was buried with simple village honors, and laid to rest beneath
the floor of the Cathedral where he had so long ministered, side by side
with a long line of priests. On the little slab that marked his
resting-place no mention was made of the mighty work he had done for
truth. There were fears that when the character of his book was known,
the grave of Copernicus would not remain undisturbed, and so the
inscription on the headstone was simply this: "I ask not the grace
accorded to Paul; not that given to Peter; give me only the favor which
Thou didst show to the thief on the cross."

[Illustration: HUMBOLDT]

HUMBOLDT

The actual miracle of the Universe