A 1.1 LEI, GALILKO. 



GALILKI, GALILEO. 



1 



i of that border, showed the rrest inequalities on her surface, 

 miHiBlalB ln|is would be illun.iwted by tb* sun. while the 

 has* would U* in obscurity, in consequence of the con- 

 vexity of UM sorhe*. IB porcoing the** observations, he found that 

 UM moon tame toward* UM earth the sun* face oonsUntly, so that 

 Marly a hemisphere of her surface eaa never b* visible to us. From 

 thi* iSBMriatil. bet he doe* not appear to have drawn the inevitable 

 eoBseqveBce, that UM time of her rotation round her own axia, and 

 UM time of revolution round the earth, must be exactly equal 

 LsfTug* afterward* suggrcted that thi* effect wa* primitively caused 

 by the determination of UM lunar figure, in which the heavier part 

 b**Bg originally accumulated towards the attracting primary, the 

 moon, in it* revolution, would always have a tendency to fall towards 

 UM heavier side so determined. Galilei subsequently observed the 

 libtmtioa* of th* moon, by which (mall portions of her more distant 

 ho*i*pbere are alternately brought in view; but be wa* not in a 

 situation to give a satisfactory explanation of the cause, from the 

 imperfection of theoretical astronomy. The idea which was suggested 

 from the appearance of oceans and continent*, mountains and valleys, 

 oa th* moon, that ah* might be habitable, overwhelmed the school- 

 men with horror, and struck the religious with alarm. 



OB wntmng the nebula*, and particularly the Milky Way, with 

 hi* f.l*sa, he perceived that they were composed of myriads of stars, 

 or, in the language of Milton, "powdered with stars." It may be 

 remarked in pawing, that Milton visited Galilei, and entertained the 

 high*** opinion of hi* philosophy, to which he makes several beautiful 

 aUoaioo* in hi* Paradi** Lort.' 



Tb* planet Jupiter furnished matter for (till greater wonder. 

 Galilei perceived three very small star* eastward of the planet, and 

 do** to it* disc; two of them, on a subsequent observation, had 

 distinctly changed position to the westward : be won perceived that 

 they were satellites ; and shortly afterward* be discovered the fourth. 

 Th* strength which thi* discovery gave to the Copernican system, 

 from the analogy with our moon, however gratifying to Galilei in a 

 speculative point of view, did not prevent his ever-active mind from 

 perceiving it* great practical importance in the question of deter- 

 mining longitude* at sea; but it was reserved for a future age to 

 bring thi* and other methods to a degree of perfection then impracti- 

 cable. Tb* theory of astronomy and the construction of chrono- 

 meters were, at that time, in a moat imperfect state ; and though 

 Galilei offered his service* to Spain, then a great maritime power, it 

 is doubtful whether be would not have had cause for re.Tet if the 

 wiahed-for arrangement had taken place. The manner in which he 

 wa* availed after this discovery must have caused him amusement 

 rather than chagrin : some would not look through his glass to be 

 convinced ; one Horky asserted that be bad used the telescope, and 

 that be saw nothing of the kind ; one thought it odd that nature 

 should give satellite* to Jupiter for no purpose but to immortalise 

 the Medici family (for Galilei had denominated them Medicean stare, 

 in honour of his patron). Some time after, his opponents found out 

 five satellite* for Jupiter instead of four; while one had the impudence 

 to say that he actually saw nine satellite*. (1610.) 



On examining Saturn with th* telescope he perceived his ring, or 

 rather rings (as Sir W. Herschcl has since shown), but viewing it in 

 perspective, he took the lateral portions for two small stars, which 

 induced him to announce in transposed letters the following 



" AlUulmnm PltneUm tcrt cmlnnm obMrriTl." 

 (The nut distant planet I bare obMt-red to be threefold.) 



Hnygben* was the first who corrected this error; though it is 

 remarkable that the occasional disappearance of the supposed lateral 

 planet*, which arose from the relative change of the position of the 

 ring, which so much astonished Galilei, had not suggested to him the 

 correct nature of the phenomenon : we must however remember the 

 great imperfections of the first constructed telescopes. 



Hi* next discovery he also concealed in the same enigmatical manner : 

 the transposed letters signify, in their proper order 



" Cjnthlw ftfurss rmulttur muter morum ; " 

 (Venus rirsli the moon'i pbtscs;) 



alluding to the orescent form of this planet when in or near conjunc- 

 tion. Hi* discovery of spot* on the sun'* due, which were evidently 

 attached to that luminary, was a severe blow to the imaginary perfection 



.,( i:,c - i. .. . n. 



The Jesuit* had always entertained a cordial hatred for Galilei, as 

 be bad joined tb* party by whom they had been expelled from Padua; 

 the progress of hi* discoveries wa* therefore reported to the Inquisition 

 at Rome a* dangerous to religion, and ha was openly denounced from 

 the pulpit by Caccini, a friar. In hi* own justification he wrote letters, 

 one to his pupil Ca.telli, and another to the Archduchess Christina, 

 in which be repudiate* any attack upon religion, and state* that the 

 object of the Scripture* was to teach men the way of salvation, and 

 not to instruct them in astronomy, for the acquiring of which they 

 were endowed with diffident natural faculties. Nevertheless the 

 Inquisition was implacable, and ordered Cccini to draw up depositions 

 against Oalilei ; but hi* appearance in ponou at Rome in 1615, and his 

 able defence of hi* conduct, for a moment ailenoed hi* persecutor*. 



In March 1616 the pop* (Paul V.) granted Galilei an audience, and 



assured him of bis personal aafety, but positively require 1 him not to 

 teach the Coporuionn doctrine of the motion of the earth : Galilei 

 complied, and left Iloine in disgust. He had noon occasion to turn his 

 attention again to astronomy, fur in 1618 there appeared no lest than 

 three comet*, on which occurrence Galilei advised his friends not to 

 conceive too hastily that comet* are like planets, moving through the 

 immensity of space, but that they may be atmospheric ; hi* reasons for 

 this, though ingenious, are fallacious, as are those which he afterward* 

 gave for the oauaea which produce tides, which he attribute* to the 

 unequal velocities of different part* of the *ea by reason of the com- 

 bination of the rotatory and progressive motions of the earth, which 

 at some points conspire together and at other* are opposed. Wallia 

 afterwords seems to have adopted the same opinion, which could never 

 have been entertained had either of them reflected on the complete 

 independence of the rotatory and progressive motions of bodies. The 

 motion of the whole solar system too would, on their supposition, have 

 affected the tide* ; but dynamic* had as yet no existence, and Galilei 

 often frankly confesses that he is more a philosopher than a mathe- 

 matician. He afterwards went to Rome, and was received with great 

 kindneis by the next pope (Urban VIII.): his enemies were silenced 

 for awhile, and he wa* sent home to Tuscany loaded with favours and 

 presents; and though his patron, Cosmo 1L de' Medici, was dead, his 

 successor, Ferdinand II., showed him strong marks of esteem and 

 attachment. 



In 1630 he finished, and in 1632 completed, his celebrated work, 

 ' Dialogue on the Ptolemaic and Copernican Systems,' which he dedi- 

 cated to Ferdinand II. By giving the work this form, hi* object seems 

 to have been to evade his promise not to teach the Copernican doctrine*. 

 Three fictitious persons conduct the dialogue : Salviati, a Copernicaa ; 

 Sagredo, a bantorer on the same side ; and Simplicio, a Ptolemaist, 

 who gets much the worst both by jokrs and arguments. In his dia- 

 logue Galilei was thought to have aimed at the prohibition in some of 

 hi* sarcastic remarks ; and the pope, who hod been personally friendly 

 with Galilei, fancied, apparently with gome reason, that he was the 

 person held up to ridicule in the last character, a* some argument* 

 which he had used had been put into Simplicio's mouth ; he was 

 therefore mortally offended, and the Inquisition resolved not to allow 

 the attempted evasion of Galilei's aolemn promise. Galilei wa* 

 accordingly summoned to Rome, though ho was seventy years of ago 

 and overwhelmed with infirmities ; he had however all the protection 

 and comforts which the grand duke could confer on him, being kept 

 at the Tuscan ambassador's hou.se; and this spirited man (Nicoliui) 

 even wished to maintain him at his own expense when he perceived a 

 penurious disposition in Ferdinand's minister. 



After some months' residence in Rome he was again summoned 

 before the Inquisition, and on the 20th of June appeared b fore the 

 assembled inquisitors in the convent of Minerva. The whole of his 

 sentence is too long to be transcribed here, but a portion of it is too 

 curious to be omitted : 



" liy the desire of his Holiness, and of the most eminent Lord* 

 Cardinals of this supreme and universal Inquisition, the two propo- 

 sitions, of the stability of the sun and motion of the earth, were 

 qualified by the Theological Qualifiers as follows : 



" 1st. The proposition that the sun is the centre of the world and 

 iramoveable from its place, is absurd, philosophically false, and formally 

 heretical ; because it is expressly contrary to Holy Scripture. 



" 2ndly. The proposition that the earth is not the centre of the 

 world, nor immoveable, but that it move*, and also with a diurnal 

 motion, is absurd, philosophically false, and theologically coneid' red 

 at least erroneou* in faith." 



After a long and declamatory expose*, from one passage in which it 

 has been suspected that Galilei was put to the torture, it concludes 

 thus : 



" We decree that the book of the < Dialogues' of Galileo Galilei be 

 prohibited by edict ; wo condemn you to the prison of this office 

 during pleasure ; we order you, for the next three weeks, to recite 

 onoe a week the seven penitential psalms, kc. &c." 



To obtain so mild a sentence Galilei was obliged to abjure, on the 

 Gospels, his belief in the Copernicnn doctrine. We quote a part of 

 his abjuration : 



" With a sincere heart and unfeigned faith I abjure, curse, and 

 detest the said errors and heresies (viz. that the earth moves, &0.); I 

 swear that I will never in future say or assert anything, verbally or in 

 writing, which may give rise to a similar suspicion against me. . . . 

 " I Galileo Galilei have abjured as above 

 with my own hand." 



Rising from his knee* after this solemnity, he whispered to a friend, 

 " K purse muove" ("It moves, for all that"). 



Tbis sentence and abjuration having been generally promulgated, 

 the disciples of Galilei found it necessary to act with prudence; but 

 their esteem for their master was not diminished by this compulsory 

 abjuration. 



Afflictions followed quickly the old age of Oalilei. lu April 1634 

 he lost a beloved daughter, who was his only stay. He was allowed 

 to return to Arcetri, where she breathed her lost, but he was still 

 kept in strict confinement After two years spent in this unhajipy 

 condition, his confinement became more rigorous through some new 

 suspicions entertained by the pope ; so that, after having been allowed 



