ERA OF COPERNICUS, TYCHO BRAHE, KEPPLER, AND GALILEO. 31 



can think of his mock recantation of the doctrines of the earth's axical and orbital motion 

 without feelings of deep shame and regret ? an old man, at the age of seventy, on 

 his knees, with his right hand resting on the Gospels, renouncing opinions of the truth of 

 which he had not the slightest doubt, and ecclesiastical authority exacting the sacrifice 

 with the temporal sword. But in judging of the actions of men we should always take 

 into account the circumstances of temptation in which they have been placed, the general 

 current of opinion in their day, and a due sense of human infirmity. Such was the state 

 of public feeling in Italy, that it is more than probable that Galileo regarded the service 

 imposed upon him as a church ceremony, through which, as a son of the church, he was 

 bound to go, without being responsible for its demerits. The sorrows that accompanied 

 his descent to the grave, the indomitable energy which he displayed under them, 

 together with his achievements, may be accepted as a reason for moderating censure 

 upon his one failure in the time of trial. He lost his favourite daughter, Maria, in his 

 old age the charm and comfort of his life. The sight he had so well employed failed 

 him, and he became totally blind. In sickness, his petition to repair to Florence for 

 medical assistance was denied. He afterwards lost his hearing ; but his intellectual 

 powers remained strong and active until his death in 1642, wanting a year to the birth 

 of Newton, and to the lapse of a century from the death of Copernicus. Galileo was lax 

 in his morals, like the rest of his countrymen, fond of society, of cheerful spirit, and 

 highly popular manners. He was strongly attached to a country life, attended to agri 

 culture, and spent much of his leisure among his vines. But for years he Avas a martyr 

 to acute bodily pain. His house is still standing at Arcetri, about a mile from Florence, 

 near St. Matthew's convent. His last surviving pupil, Viviani, became a fellow of our 

 Royal Society, and lived to enter the eighteenth century. 



The remains of Galileo were interred in unconsecrated ground in the front of the noble 

 church of Santa Croce in Florence. They have since been removed into the interior of 

 the building, and laid in the centre aisle. His monument stands opposite the tombs of 

 Dante, Alfieri, and Michael Angelo, and consists of a bust, said to be a portrait. A finger 

 stolen from the coffin when the body was removed is now in the Laurentian Library, 

 enclosed in a glass case, and placed in considerable state upon a pedestal. Galileo is thus 

 apostrophised by the late American Minister in this country (Mr. Everett), in some lines 

 written after visiting Santa Croce : 



" And them, illustrious sage ! thine eye is clos'd, 

 To which their secret paths new stars expos'd. 

 Haply thy spirit in some higher sphere 

 Soars with the motions which it measur'd here. 

 Dost thou, whose keen perception pierc'd the cause 

 Which gives the pendulum its mystic laws, 

 Now trace each orb with telescopic eyes, 

 And solve the eternal clock-work of the skies ? 

 While thy worn frame enjoys its long repose, 

 And Santa Croce heals Arcetri's woes." 



There is no reason to doubt the perfect sincerity of the theologians of the church of 

 Rome in their proceedings against Galileo, and strong mitigating circumstances might be 

 cited on their behalf. They believed his scientific conclusions to be contrary to the sense 

 of Scripture, and hence acted under an honest conviction that they could not be true. 

 Nor were they alone in this opinion, having the authority of all the early fathers on their 

 side, and that of many Protestant interpreters. But as a book designed for popular use, 

 the Bible is adapted for popular comprehension ; and hence its representations are framed 

 in wise and benign accommodation to the understanding in ordinary life. The appear 

 ance presented by physical nature to the eye of the observer is expressed, and not the 



