GALILEO AND HIS JUDGES. 75 



Moon happens to be at its least distance from the 

 Earth at the time of spring-tides, but that was un- 

 known to Galileo. He touches, however, and very 

 properly so, on the great modifications in the tides 

 caused by various gulfs, by the forms of the great 

 continents, and the shapes of different seas modifi- 

 cations, in fact, which are well known to be almost 

 innumerable, and have been learnt only by careful 

 observation and experience. 



One of the worst features of this Dialogue is the 

 contempt which the author shows for those opinions 

 on the subject which differ from his own ; and it is 

 difficult to suppress a feeling of disgust when he 

 alludes in this way to Kepler, who had partly guessed 

 the true cause of the tides, and of whom he other- 

 wise speaks in terms of respect.* 



If a man of science, when he wishes to publish to 

 the world a discovery or a hypothesis, adopts the 

 form of a dialogue as a method of stating his case, 

 he ought in all reason to do full justice to the antago- 

 nistic side, and state his opponent's case as well as 

 his own. 1 fear that Galileo failed to do this, not 

 only in this particular dialogue, but also to some 

 extent in those of the three preceding days. Sim- 



* These are the author's words, spoken by Salviati : " Tra tutti 

 gli nornini grandi, che sopra tal mirabile effetto di natura hanno 

 filosofato, piu mi maraviglio del Keplero, che di altri, il quale 

 d' ingegno libero, e acuto, e che aveva in inano i moti attribuiti 

 alia terra, abbia poi dato 1' orecchio, e assenso a predominii della 

 Luna sopra I' acqua, e a proprieta occulte, e simili fanciullezze." 



