Physical Form
In the ancient past there were varying levels of belief in a flat Earth, with the Mesopotamian culture portraying the world as a flat disk afloat in an ocean. The spherical form of the Earth was suggested by early Greek philosophers; a belief espoused by Pythagoras. By the Middle Ages—as evidenced by thinkers such as Thomas Aquinas—European belief in a spherical Earth was widespread. Prior to circumnavigation of the planet and the introduction of space flight, belief in a spherical Earth was based on observations of the secondary effects of the Earth's shape and parallels drawn with the shape of other planets.
Read more about this topic: Earth In Culture
Famous quotes containing the words physical and/or form:
“The real pleasure of being Mick Jagger was in having everything but being tempted by nothing ... a smouldering ill will which silk clothes, fine food, wine, women, and every conceivable physical pampering somehow aggravated ... a drained and languorous, exquisitely photogenic ennui.”
—Anonymous “Chronicler.” Quoted in Philip Norman, The Life and Good Times of the Rolling Stones (1989)
“Reverence is the highest quality of man’s nature; and that individual, or nation, which has it slightly developed, is so far unfortunate. It is a strong spiritual instinct, and seeks to form channels for itself where none exists; thus Americans, in the dearth of other objects to worship, fall to worshipping themselves.”
—Lydia M. Child (1802–1880)