terraqueous

An immediate consequence, therefore, which is the subject of Chapter 4, was a radical transformation in the understanding of how the Earth is constructed: the emergence of the concept of the terraqueous globe.

The discovery of antipodes led straight to the concept of the terraqueous globe; but Copernicanism did not lead directly to the view that all planets shine by reflected light—the telescope had to intervene.

I use ‘Earth’ for the modern, Copernican conception of the Earth as a rotating terraqueous globe, which is one of the planets; ‘earth’ for the pre-Copernican conception of the world we inhabit, being made up of the element earth, which is stationary at the centre of the universe.

In the wake of Columbus’s discovery of America a silent revolution occurred, the invention of what we now call ‘the terraqueous globe’.

One might think that the adoption of the theory of the terraqueous globe automatically meant acknowledging that the seas are lower than the dry land, but the contrary view seemed to be clearly established by scripture and by innumerable respectable authorities.