GALILEI. 
pointed him t-o th? njathematieal chair in the iiniverfity of 
Pifa. lie difeharged the duties of tliis appointment for 
about tliree veariS,' with the applaufe and admir4iiion ot 
the liberal .md more enlightened; but ivot without ex¬ 
citing the jealoufy and oppofjtion of the violent Ariflotc- 
lians, who, becaufe he ventured to qneftion lorne ot the 
hypothetical maxims of their mafter, held liim out in tlie 
odious light of a vihonary and dangerous innoyaior. Be¬ 
coming difgufled with the obdruttions which their bigot¬ 
ry threw in the viay of Itis prom;).ting juft principles ot 
fciencc, in 1592 he refigned his pr ifellbrlhip at Pita, and 
accepted an invitation that w'as len* him to (ill the matl.e- 
marical chair in th.e univerlity of Padua. In this femina- 
j-y he continued for eighteen years, riiling the credit of 
the univerfity as a fchool .of found philofophy. Psy de¬ 
grees Tufeany felt an increafing ardour for improvement; 
and no fooner was it known , that Galileo’s patriotifm in¬ 
clined him to devote his fervices to his native country, 
than Cofmo II. grand-duke, fent for liim to Pifa i.n i^ii, 
where lie made him profeftbr of mathematics, with a very 
confider.tble penfion. With the fttidy of mathema.tics 
Galileo united that of phj ftcs, pariicujarly the dofttines 
of mechanics and optics. Before he hdd fettled at Padua, 
lie had written his Mechanics, or treatife on tlie benefits 
derived front that fcience and its inftruments; and alfo 
liis Balance, for finditig the proportion of alloy or mixed 
metals. Tiiele lie had introduced into his lectures at 
that univerfity. Being informed at Venice, in 1609, that 
Janfen, a Dirchman, h.id invented a glafs by means of 
which dilt,lilt objects appeared as if they wet e near, he 
turned his attention to this fabjedt, and from the imper- 
fp-dt accounts which he hr.d received, and his own refiec- 
tions on tiie nature of refrndtion, difeovered tlie coiiftriic- 
tion of that inftrumenf. Tiie next day, after he had fol- 
ved tlie problem of its conftrudtion, lie made fuch an in- 
ftriiment, and by liie attention which he paid to its per- 
I'ediion and improvement, mayjufily be conlidercd as the 
fecond inventor of the telei'cope. Me now .turned his iii- 
fhument towards the heavens, and then firft difeovered 
the furface of the moon not to be fmootli, bur rough, and 
full of prominences and cavities. The milky-way he 
found to l.e an aftinnblage of fixed ftai s, invifible to the 
naked eye. Venus lie found to vary in i.s phales like the 
moon. The figure of Saturn he obferved ro be oblong, 
and imagined that it ccnlifted of three diftimT parts, one 
fpherical in the midft, and two letPer ones on the (ides, 
wliich afterwards appealed to be only the or ex¬ 
treme parts of Saturn’s ring. Jupiter lie !uw luircunded 
with four niomis, wliicli in i\onour of the duke de Medici 
he called MediceanJIars, and foori perceived that by means 
of their frequent ecliples geographical longitudes might 
be found. On the fun's di(k he perceived (pots, from the 
motion of which he inferred that the fun revolved on its 
axis. It was while he was piirfuing tliefe difeoveries, 
that he w'as invited to Florence, where he had lei'fure af¬ 
forded liiin to devote hinileU to his mathematical and phi- 
loi'bpliical (Indies, v. iilw-ut being obliged to attend to the 
duties of his profeirorfhip. In a very few years, however. 
Ills tranqui lity w as difturbed by the ignorant and bigorfed 
clergy, on account of the zeal whicli he difeovered for 
illullratiiig and confirming the truth of the Copernican 
fyftem. Thatfyfteni they maintained to be falfe and lie- 
retical, as being contrary to the plain and exprefs lan¬ 
guage of the (criptures ; and by their complaints againft; 
him to the inquilition at Rome, rendered it necefi'ary for 
him, in 1615, to appear in that city to jultify liimfelf. 
According to letters writte.n from Rome by the learned 
Anthony Q^erenghi, Galileo did not lofe his courage on 
this occafjon, but in numerous companies of men of let¬ 
ters and others, defended the Copernican doitrine with a 
force of argument which perfuaded many of its truth and 
reafoiiablenels, and (ilenced the objeftions of others who 
would not be convinced. When lie attended the inquifi- 
tioii, liow-ever, he was not fulfered to enter into any ex¬ 
planations, but was directly accufed of herefy for main- 
183 
faining the (wo propofiilon?, t.hot tlie fun is live centre of 
the world, and inpiiove.abl.e by a loc^l motion ; and that 
the earth is not the .centre of the wprJ.d, n,o.r im.ir.ov.ctd'le, 
but m.oy.es with a djurn.ij motion. Thtife propolilions li.e 
was by a decree , of the inqnifitors ordered to rem iiiue, 
and jio.t to d.eleiid tJiein either i.u converfation or writing, 
or even to infiiiiKite them into the minds of any perfoiis 
wliorafoever. Mod accounts concur in ft.iting, that t.n 
this occafion he was committed to the prifon of tlie hol.y 
office, .where he was confine,d for about five morithf; but 
according to otlier accounts he was irea.ted with greater 
mildnefs, and only tlireatened witli impi ifoiiment if he 
(liould prove relraiTory. Be that as it may, he was not 
permitted to quit Rome until he had promifed to con¬ 
form himfelf to the decree of the inqiiifitioii; and it is 
probable that his fenlence .would li,iv,e been more fevere, 
had not the grand-duke of Tuudiiy warmly iiilerefted 
him.felf on his behalf, as well as Come perfpns ,of high 
rank and infiuence at the papal court. Galileo now re¬ 
turned to liis (Indies, in whic!, his aftrononiical obierva- 
tions and other difcoveiies fei'Ved to eft..,bli(]i moll com¬ 
pletely and fatisfaifiorily the tnitli of his opinions. At 
length, in 1632, he ventured to publifli at Floi:ci.ce his 
Dialogues on the two greateft Syilems of tlie World, the 
Ptolemaic and Copernican ; in which he produced the 
ftrongeft arguments in favour of both fyllems ; without 
exprefiing a decided opinion whicli of tlieni was the true 
one, but not wiiliout fuch infiniiatioiis in favour of the 
Copernican as (iifficiently indicated its fuperior rcafonabie- 
nefs, and his own belief ill it. Scarcely had this work, 
mad.e its appearance, before the cry of herely was railed 
more loudly tiuiii e.ver againft Galileo, and lie was again 
cited to appear before the iribujitil of tlie inquilition, iu 
1633. Though now feventy years of age, he was obliged 
to (ubmit to tlie jierfecutiiig mandate, and on his arrival 
at Rome was at fii ft committed prifoner to the apartmems 
of the nfcal of the holy office. Afterwards, ihrougli'Uia 
interceftion of tlie grand-duke, he was pennitied toreiide 
ill tiie hoiife of hi.s ambaffiidor wliile the procefs wa.s 
c.irrying on againft him, .After his trial iiad lafted 
about two months, he was brotight up to receive feu- 
tence in full congregation; when he was ordered, in the 
molt foleniii manner, to abjure and condemn the Copei- 
nican fyftem, as contrary to the (criptures, and to, bind 
liimfelf by oath no longer to teach or fupport it, either 
direfitly or indircc-tly. As a puniftimeiit for having dif¬ 
obeyed the former decree of the court, he was condemn¬ 
ed to be detained in the prifons of tlie holy office, during 
the pleafure of the cardinal inquifitors; and enjoined a.sn 
laving penance, lor three years to come, to repeat once 
a-week the feveii penitential pf.tlins, the court referving 
10 tlieml'elves the power of moderating, changing, and 
taking away, altogether, or in part, the above-mentioned 
puniiliment and penance. His Dialogues were alfo order¬ 
ed to be burnt at Rome. Pope Urban VI11 . who at that 
time fat on the pontifical throne, lelfeiied the rigour of his 
fentence, by confining him for a time to the palace and 
garden de Medici at Rome ; after which lie was fent to 
the archiepifcopal palace at Sienna, where tlie air was 
more favourable to his ftate of health; and in 1634 he 
was pennitied to refide at his country-houfe at Arcetrif 
in the vicinity of Florence. In this place he fpent the 
remainder of his days, diligently applying himfelf to his 
celeftial obfervations. By his continual ufe of the telef.. 
cope, however, and the injuries which his eyes had re¬ 
ceived from the iiodlurnal air, .his fight w’as gradually 
impaired, till he became entirely blind about three years 
before his death. This calamity he bore with a truly 
chriftian refignation, employing himfelf in conftant medi- 
tatiOn and enquiry, the refulc of which he intended to 
communicate to the world. He haddigefted much mat¬ 
ter, and had begun to didtate his conceptions, when he 
was attacked by a diftemper which terminated in his death, 
ill 1642, when in tlie feventy-eighth year of his age. Ga¬ 
lileo untpueftionably rendered the higheft fervice to fei- 
2 ence, 
