An example of anthropomorphic language in scientific writing:
"But Venus and Mercury rise and set in a different fashion. For they are not occulted by the approach of the sun, as the higher planets are; and they are not uncovered again by its departure. But, coming in front, they mingle with the radiance of the sun and free themselves. But when the higher planets have an evening rising and a morning setting, they are not obscured at any time so as not to traverse the night with their illumination, but the lower planets remain hidden indifferently from sunset to sunrise and cannot be seen anywhere."
Nicolaus Copernicus (1543/1995) On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres (Translator: Charles Glenn Wallis) Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books
The phrasing here suggests Venus and Mercury as active agents. Similarly the idea they hide 'indifferently' is metaphorical, or otherwise suggests the planets are capable of being other than indifferent, and caring about their status!
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