Nicolaus Copernicus "Almagest" circa 150 CE; the Earth was the stationary center of the universe. Stars were embedded in a large outer sphere which rotated rapidly, approximately daily, while each of the planets, the Sun, and the Moon were embedded in their own, smaller spheres. Ptolemy's system employed devices, including epicycles, deferents and equants, to account for observations that the paths of these bodies differed from simple, circular orbits centered on the Earth. Copernicus' major work on his heliocentric theory was "Dē revolutionibus orbium coelestium" ("On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres"), published in the year of his death, 1543. He had
Against the Current: Essays in the History of Ideas published in 1973. In this essay, Berlin explains his theory of a Counter-Enlightenment. Berlin traces the ideology of figures such as Giambattista Vico, from their opposition to enlightenment ideals to the emergence of Romanticism and Existentialism. Against the Current: Essays in the History of Ideas Against the Current: Essays in the History of Ideas (1979) is a collection of essays by 20th century philosopher and historian Isaiah Berlin. The collection was edited by Henry Hardy, and featured an introduction by Roger Hausheer. The book collects previously published essays in which Berlin discusses the thoughts of 20th century ideologic dissenters who