ayg2- ~ the dream of Galileo. PO" : 
_ blith the glorious temple of truth, upon the ruins of those - 
fabrics of prejudice and.error which were reared by igno-- 
wance, and sanctified by time? Didst,thou not, as soon as+ 
nature was satisfied, retire with reluctance from the social _ 
board, gail deny thyself even the-slightest indulgence which... 
could interfere for a moment .with intellectual pursuits ? 
How many hours hast thou stolen from sleep, in order to~ 
devotethementirely to wisdom? Howoften, when all around - 
thee lay sunk in carelefs and profound repose, hast thou 
stood fhiyering With frost, while employed. in contem- 
plating the wonders of the firmament? or when clouds and. 
darknefs.concealed them from thy view, hung over the 
midnight, lamp, anxious, to contribute, by thy discoveries, 
to the glory of the deity, and the instruction of mankind ?~ 
Poor wretch! and what is now, the fruit of thy labours ?~ 
What recompence hast thou obtained for all thy. efforts to. 
glorify.thy Creator; and all thy endeavours to iljuminate~. 
mankind ? Qnly that the anguifh occasioned by thy.suf-~- 
ferings fhould gradually exhaust all moisture from thine | 
eyes ;—-—only that those faithful allies .of the soul fhould . 
be more and more enfeebled every day ; and that 
now these tears, which thou. canst not restrain, fhould ex- . 
tinguith their scanty light for ever! 
Thus, Viviani; did I speak to myself; -and then threw 
an enyious.glance upon my persecutors. These wretches, 
exclaimed I, who hide their ignorance under mysterious 
forms, and conceal their vices in a venerable garb; 
who sanctify their indolence, by imposing on the world the, 
inventions of men for the oracles of God, and join to pur- 
sue, with unrelenting:fury, the sage who raises the torch, 
of truth, lest-their luxurious slumbers fhould be broken., 
by its splendor. ‘These vile ones, who are only active fer. 
their own pleasures, and the corrupticn-of the world ; 
who laugh at misery in their gilded palaces; whose life, 
