Geographers From Belgium

"When I saw that Moses’ version of the Genesis of the world did not fit sufficiently in many ways with Aristotle and the rest of the philosophers, I began to have doubts about the truth of all philosophers and started to investigate the secrets of nature."

"Since my youth geography has been for me the primary object of study. When I was engaged in it, having applied the considerations of the natural and geometric sciences, I liked, little by little, not only the description of the earth, but also the structure of the whole machinery of the world, whose numerous elements are not known by anyone to date."

"... spread on a plane the surface of a sphere in such a way that the positions of all places shall correspond on all sides with each other both in so far as true direction and distance are concerned and as concerns true longitudes and latitudes."

"D.O.M.S. GERARDVS MERCATOR HIC SITVS EST IVLIACENSIVM PROVINCIA ORDVNDVS NATVS RVOELMVNDÆ FLANDORVM AN. DNI. M. D. XII. V. MARTII CAROLI V. ROM. IMP. DOMESTICUS: GVLIELMI PATRIS AC JOAN GVLIEMI FIL. CLIVENS IVLIAC: ETC: DVUCUM COSMOGRAPHVS MATHEMATICORUM SVI TEMPORIS FACILE PRINCEPS QVI GLOBIS ARTIFICIOSIS RADIO DIMENSIS COELVM AC TERRAM INTERIVS ET EXTERIVS QVA LICVIT, DEMONSTRAVIT A VARIA DOCTRINA, THEOLOGIA IMPRIMIS LAVDATVS PIETATE VIRTVTE INTEGRITATE VITÆ MORVMQ(EU) COMITATE DEO ET HOMINIBVS CHARVS, VXORES BINAS HABVIT QUARVM PRIOR BARBARA SCHELLEKENS LOV ANIENSIS FÆMINA LECTISSIMA PROPE MARITVM SEPVLTA IPSI: TRES FILIOS TOTIDEMQ(UE) FILIAS PEPERIT. EX POSTERIORE VERO GERTRVDA VIRLINGS NVLLOS LIBEROS SVSCEPIT. AN. M. D. LII. LOV ANIO TEUTOBVRGVM VNA CVM FÆMINA HABITATVM VENIT VBI AN. M. D. XCIV. II. DECEMB. OBIIT. ÆTATIS LXXXII. At the base: AD LECTOREM. QUISQUIS ADES FRUSTRA METUIS NE FORTE SEPULTO / SIT MERCATORI TANTULA TERRA GRAVIS / OMNIS TERRA VIRO LEVIS EST QUI TOTA USQUAM TERRARUM EST HUMERIS PONDERA GESSIT ATLAS. On the cartouche: MEMORIÆ ET GRATITVDINIS ERGO HABERE DES HOC MONVMENTVM POSVERE."

"Dedicated to God, most good, most great (DOMS). Here is buried Gerhard Mercator who lived in the duchy of Jülich but was born in Ruppelmunde in Flanders on 5th March, 1512. He was a Councillor of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and Cosmographer to Duke William and his son Johann Wilhelm of the united duchies of Jülich and Cleves. He was by far the foremost mathematician of his time and he crafted artistic and accurate globes showing the heaven from the inside and the Earth from the outside. He was greatly respected for his wide erudition, particularly in theology, and famous on account of his piety and respectability in life and works, acclaimed for his good standing with God and men. He was married twice. His first virtuous wife Barbara Schellekens, from Leuven, is buried beside her husband. She bore him three sons and as many daughters. His second marriage with Gertrud Virlings bore no children. In 1552 he came to Duisburg from Leuven with his wife. He died on 2nd December 1594 at the age of 82 years. AT THE BASE: To the reader: whoever you are, your fears that this small clod of earth lies heavily on the buried Mercator are groundless; the whole Earth is no burden for a man who had the whole weight of her lands on his shoulders and carried her as (an) Atlas. ON THE CARTOUCHE: Erected in rememberance and gratitude by his heirs."

"It was the custom of our mutual friendship and intimacy that, during three whole years, neither of us lacked the other's presence for as much as three whole days. and such was the eagerness of both for learning and philosophizing that, after we had come together, we scarcely left off the investigation of difficult and useful problems for three minutes of an hour."

"Mercator knew Palestine better than any place outside the Low Countries. He had grown up with its miracles and revelations. He knew its history. Palestine had been the subject of the first map that most of his generation had ever seen. And like the Bible maps of his boyhood, his would show the route described in the Fourth book of Moses"

"Although he ate and drank very little, he kept an excellent table, well furnished with the necessities of civilised living... He always did his best to help those who were poor and less fortunate than he and ... he cultivated and cherished hospitality. Whenever he was invited by the magistrates to a banquet or by friends to a dinner, or he himself invited friends, he was invariable cheerful and witty ..."