WOMEN AS INSPIRERS 367 



Galilei for a verbatim report of what passed between Sister 

 Celeste and the father whom she so idolized. 1 



Judging from her letters, she had many questions to ask 

 him about his studies, his experiments, his discoveries, his 

 books, as well as about more personal and domestic matters. 



Although there is no documentary proof of the fact, yet 

 there is every reason to believe that Galileo had taken 

 personal charge of the education of this, his favorite daugh- 

 ter. She shared his taste for science and inherited not a 

 little of his genius. Such being the case, we may well 

 believe that a faithful account of their conversations of 

 that day would be not only of surpassing interest, but 

 would also throw a flood of light on many questions now 

 ill understood. They would certainly tend to fill up the 

 numerous lacunae caused by the disappearance of the letters 

 of Galileo, which he wrote in answer to those of his ever- 

 cherished daughter. 2 



*An English writer, discussing this subject, pertinently observes: 

 "For, after all, is it not the personal incidents and commonplaces 

 of life that gather interest as the centuries roll on, while its more 

 pretentious events often drop into mere literary lumber? How much 

 more interesting Dr. Johnson's incidental admission, 'I have a 

 strong inclination, Sir, to do nothing today,' is to us now than 

 many of his more formal utterances. And, in reality, is it the 

 personal element alone that is in the long run perennial? The wise 

 may prate as they will about the importance of maintaining the con- 

 tinuity of history and of handing on the torch of science. The 

 world cares for none of these things; they interest only some few 

 political economists and laborious men. What does the crowd and 

 poor little Tom Jones and his nestful, for instance, care about the 

 fact that Cheops was at any rate by courteous tradition a mighty 

 man of valor of such an era and land? But little Tom Jones and 

 the rest of us would become mightily interested in this misty monster 

 of many traditions, could we learn in some magical way all he 

 thought, hated and loved in his inmost heart of hearts." The Na- 

 tional Eeview, p. 461, June, 1889. 



2 The Duke of Peiresc, in a letter to Gassendi, regarding Galileo, 

 refers to certain letters tres belles epistres of the great philosopher, 

 tf & une sienne fille religieuse sur le sujet mesme des matires 



