Magellan Quote

ginesdemafra · Joined: 12 Dec 2009 Posts: 1 Location: Philippines

The Magellan quote was never said by the Portuguese navigator. Its real author is Robert Green Ingersoll. The words are found in the fourth paragraph of Ingersoll's essay entitled "Individuality" which was published in 1873. Here is the precise wording, "It is a blessed thing that in every age some one has had individuality enough and courage enough to stand by his own convictions, -- some one who had the grandeur to say his say. I believe it was Magellan who said, 'The church says the earth is flat; but I have seen its shadow on the moon, and I have more confidence even in a shadow than in the church.' On the prow of his ship were disobedience, defiance, scorn, and success." (See http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/robert_ingersoll/individuality.html)

You can’t find this quote anywhere outside of Ingersoll’s essay.

The improbability of Magellan saying those words will be seen as obvious. The sphericity of earth was known thousands of years before Magellan. The only question was the exact size of the globe. Eratosthenes (3rd c BC) calculated the earth’s circumference to be 39,690 km which is only 1% off the mark. As late as the 15th century Michael of Rhodes wrote a treatise on this.

The Catholic Church never made any dogmatic claim as to the flatness of earth. What the Church pronounced as dogma was the notion earth was center of the Universe.

Ascribing this quote wrongly to Magellan in your blog is a case of ignorance. To insist on publishing it without correcting it by assigning authorship to Ingersoll is to knowingly foist a lie.

RichFrye · Joined: 09 Jun 2004 Posts: 1718 Location: Chicago

Thanks troll.
Liar I am then.
It is soothing to know that the Church knew the world was "round" at Magellan's time, but still killed people as witches. Need I go on?

tachikoma · Joined: 16 Apr 2009 Posts: 10

What the hell is this idiot talking about? Does it really matter who said it? It has no effect on everyday life what so ever, and for the record no one ever said Magellan was the first or only guy to think the world was round just the first to circumnavigate the globe. Stop spreading hate.