That the earth turns,
Who proclaimed that to us?
Old Galileo,
He made the discovery.

For thirty years he had
Ruminated day and night,
Tore at his beard and his hair
And brought nothing forth.

Then one day he spoke:
"Now I am utterly sick of it;
I shall go to a tavern
Where there are good wines!

The silly telescopes 
Have long disgusted me!
Of what use are glasses
Out of which one cannot drink?"

And at the tavern table
Galileo seated himself,
And with wine the old boy
Refreshed himself.

The wine was clear and golden
And it went down smoothly;
The old chap said: "I think
That is the wine of comets.

Another full bottle,
Tavern-keeper, if you will,
With one you cannot perform calculations,
Mankind adheres to the system!"

And after the second bottle,
He began to feel
As if there were something strange
About the earth. 

But after the third [bottle]
It became utterly clear to him,
How indisputably shaky
His whole viewpoint was.

He tottered out the door
And stood upon the marketplace, --
There the world spun around
With him in a circle,

And turrets and houses flew, --
Thereupon he called out jubilantly:
"Hooray, the earth revolves!
Now I have finally figured it out!"

From that, little brethren, comprehend
The value of empiricism,
And how in wine is heralded
The slumbering genius!