ikenbot:

Truth Behind the Quote

Since I knew at some point people would remove the commentary (you know cause screw real sources!) from the image where I added it I decided to give it its own post here on my page so people can refer to it whenever they need to. I know somewhere down the line there’s going to be some shmuck that will end up removing the commentary on this post as well, so I would love it if followers who are aware of this to keep the torch going and at the very least kindly inform those who misquote this wonderful piece of literature of who the credit actually belongs to.

I cringe every time I see this quote along with Galileo’s name or picture accompanied by it with a gajillion notes.

As much as I love Galileo and the work he did put out, these are not his words. This line is an excerpt from “The Old Astronomer”, or “The Old Astronomer to His Pupil” written solely by poet Sarah Williams (1837–1868).

I love poems as much as the next person, even more so when it expresses the night and stars so creatively, but there’s already enough wrongfully cited publishing done by women attributed to the men of history.. Let’s at the very least give her credit for what she did and quit dedicating artwork, doodles, t-shirts, paintings towards the wrong person.

Someone pointed out this is not by Galileo, it’s actually from a poem The Old Astronomer to His Pupil by Sarah Williams. [I feel silly because I’ve thought for years it was actually Gelileo’s quote.] You learn something every day!

(Source: groundedonthedaily, via intercosmic-deactivated20120909)