Galileo Galilei - When the World Stood Still

220 Pages·2005·3.821 MB·English

by  Atle Naess

GalileoGalilei–WhentheWorldStoodStill
Atle Næss
Galileo Galilei –
When the World Stood Still
With21Illustrations
123
AtleNæss
e-mail:[email protected]
Translator
JamesAnderson
e-mail:[email protected]
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2004114622
Thecoverpictureisprintedwithpermissionfromakgimages.
AuthorphotobyAstridM.Ledang.
ThistranslationhasbeenpublishedwiththefinancialsupportofNORLANon-fiction.
Translationofthe2ndeditionof“DaJordenstodStille”byAtleNæss,©GyldendalNorskForlagAS,
Oslo,2002.
ISBN3-540-21961-7SpringerBerlinHeidelbergNewYork
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Thisbookaboutamanwhorejectedancienttruthsinhisquestfornew
knowledgeisdedicatedtothetwomostinquisitivepeopleIknow:my
daughtersÅshildandUnnGyda.
Contents
Prologue:AJourneytoRome .................................... 1
TheMusician’sSon ............................................. 5
AGiftedYoungTuscan ...................................... 8
ToRomeandtheJesuits ..................................... 11
ASurveyorofInferno ....................................... 14
TheSpheresfromtheTower.................................. 17
FromPisatoPadua ......................................... 20
SignsintheSky ................................................ 23
DeRevolutionibusOrbiumCoelestium ........................ 26
LecturerandDesigner....................................... 29
AProfessor’sCommitments.................................. 31
ModernPhysicsIsBorn ..................................... 33
ANewStarinanUnchangingSky?............................ 37
DrawingClosetoaCourt .................................... 39
TheBallsFallintoPlace ..................................... 42
TheRomanStyle ........................................... 44
TheTubewiththeLongPerspective ........................... 47
ANewWorld................................................... 51
Jupiter’sSons............................................... 54
JohannKepler,ImperialMathematician ....................... 58
SeveralSignsintheSky...................................... 63
FriendshipandPower........................................... 77
ADisputeAboutObjectsthatFloatinWater ................... 80
Sun,StandThouStilluponGibeon! ........................... 84
VIII Contents
TheLettertoCastelli ........................................ 88
“HowtoGotoHeaven,NotHowtheHeavensGo”............... 92
FoolishandAbsurdinPhilosophy,FormallyHeretical........... 96
TheHammeroftheHeretics ................................. 98
DeathsandOmens.............................................. 103
CometsPortendDisaster .................................... 107
WeighingtheWordsofOthersonGoldScales .................. 111
AMarvellousCombinationofCircumstances .................. 116
WarandHeresy ............................................ 120
EuropeanPowerStruggleandRomanNephews................. 122
TheOldandtheNew........................................ 125
“AnAdvantageousDecree”................................... 130
TwoWiseMen–andaThird ................................. 132
TheInquisition’sChambers...................................... 139
DiplomacyintheTimeofthePlague .......................... 144
AnOrderfromtheTop ...................................... 149
“NorFurthertoHold,Teach,orDefendIt
inAnyWayWhatsoever” .................................... 161
ConvincedwithReasons..................................... 165
“I,GalileoGalilei” .......................................... 170
Eternity ....................................................... 177
ADeathandTwoNewSciences ............................... 181
TheMeetingwithInfinity.................................... 187
“ThatUniverse... IsNotAnyGreater
ThantheSpaceIOccupy”.................................... 192
Epilogue....................................................... 197
Postscript ..................................................... 203
Appendix...................................................... 207
References.....................................................209
Sources........................................................ 213
IndexofNames................................................. 219
Prologue:AJourneytoRome
When the greatest scourge of the Catholics, Gustav Adolf, the ‘Lion of the
North’, fell at the battle of Lützen in the autumn of 1632, that grim war
northof theAlpshad raged for fourteen years.All acrossCatholicEurope
thanksgiving masses were said. When news of the Swedish King’s death
reached Rome, His Holiness Pope Urban VIII ordered a Te Deum to be
performedintheSistineChapel,andhehimselfsangtheversicles.
MostoftheinhabitantsoftheItalianstatesalsogavethankstoGod,glad
to have avoided the war itself and the great, destructive bands of soldiers
thatplunderedandstarvedwholeregions.ButthisdidnotmeantheItalians
hadbeensparedmisfortunesofeverysort.War’ssinisterstep-brother,the
plague,wasravagingthepeninsula.
TheGrandDuchyofTuscanyanditscapital,Florence,wereseverelyaf-
fected.Everyoneknewthesymptoms:suffererswerestrickenwithfaintness,
andafterafewhoursblackbuboesappearedinthegroinandarmpits.The
buboeswereasuresign.Everyoneknewthenwhattoexpect.Thesickand
theirrelativescoulddolittlemorethanwait.Andtheydidnothavetowait
long.Soon,darkspotsappearedalloverthebody,followedbyahighfever,
theboutsofbloodyvomitingandaswift,certaindeath.
InthesmallvillageofArcetri,onawoodedhillsidejustsouthofFlorence,
anoldmansatwritinghiswill.HehadtomakeajourneytoRomeandwanted
to be prepared for every eventuality. If the plague did not get him on the
road,thestrainoftravellingmightfinishhimoff;inadditionhehadbeen
illmostoftheautumn,withdizziness,stomachpainsandaserioushernia.
Andevenifhesurvivedthesedifficulties,andthecoldwinterwindfromthe
Apenninesdidnotgivehimpneumonia,hehadnoideawhatawaitedhim
2 Prologue:AJourneytoRome
in Rome, only that his arrival was unlikely to be celebrated with a special
mass.
He had attempted to put off the journey all the previous autumn by
pleadingthathewaselderlyandfrail.Ithadmadenottheleastdifference;if
anythingithadirritatedhispowerfulenemiesevenmore.Thelastsummons
hehadreceivedhadbeenquiteunambiguous:ifhedidnotcomeinstantlyof
hisownvolitionhewouldbearrested,putinchainsandtakenawaydespite
hisadvancedageandhighstanding.
Hewalkedtheshortdistancethroughthebarecornfieldsandvineyards
to visit his two daughters. Both were nuns at the convent of San Matteo,
marriedonlytoChrist.Hehadpersonallybeeninstrumentalinthis.Only
a couple of years ago he had moved to the villa in Arcetri, to be closer to
bothofthem.Nowhewasnotsureifhewouldevermeetthemagain.Buthe
knewtheywouldprayforhim,andthattheirprayersmightbeneeded.
Next,hesentasummonstohisonlysonandhistwosmallgrandchildren,
bothboys,sothathecouldtakehisleaveofthem.Theelderoftheboyshad
just turned three and had been christened after him. The will that he had
justmadenamedhissonashissoleheir.
Theoldman’semployerandprotectorwastheyouthfulGrandDukeof
Tuscany. Althoughthename ofMedici still commanded some respect, the
22-yearoldrulercoulddonothingtopreventhisageingmathematicianand
philosopherfromhavingtomakethishumiliatinganddangerousjourney.
But the Grand Duke provided the most comfortable means of travel at his
disposal,acommodiouscarriagefromthegrandducalcarriagehouses.The
tripwouldstilltakeatleastafortnight,butitwouldeasethestrainonthe
oldmanalittle.
On20January1633,hesetoutsouthwardsfromFlorence.Afteracoupleof
days’travellingthroughtheChiantiregionhearrivedatSiena,wherehehad
spentawinterduringhisyouth,almosthalfacenturyearlier.Nowwindand
sleet blew across the brick-red, amphitheatre-like city square, and he had
no time to relive old memories. He continued slowly southwards through
the great chestnut forests on the slopes of Monte Amiata, the mountain
thatformsanalmostperfectconeasitrisessteeplyabovethelowwooded
hillsidesthatsurroundit.
WhenhegottoPonteaCentinanearthelittlebordertownofAcquapen-
dente, a nasty surprise greeted him. Because of the plague no one was
allowed into the Papal States without fourteen days’ quarantine. Sleeping
accommodation was pitiful and it was hard to buy food. He managed to
get bread and wine, and occasionally a few eggs. His orders had been to
Prologue:AJourneytoRome 3
cometoRomeasquicklyaspossible,andtheoldmanbelievedhehadbeen
givenexemptionfromquarantine.Buttheborderguardshadtheirorders:
noexceptionsregardlessoferrand.
Finallyhewasabletoproceed,pastLakeBolsena,downtoViterboand
ontotheViaCassia,oneofthemanyroadsthatradiatedfromtheancient
cityofRome.Thatsoontookhimintothecity.
He arrived in Rome on 13 February. It was the firstSunday in Lent and
twodaysbeforehissixty-ninthbirthday.Here,onesmallconsolationawaited
him:hewastobetheguestoftheGrandDuke’sAmbassadoruntilhiscase
cameup.
TheimpressivevillaontheslopesofMontePincioconjuredupmemories
ofhappiervisitstoRome,whenhisnamehadbeenonthelipsofeveryone
in the city and all of them – professors, cardinals, noblemen, even His
Holinesshimself–wantedtohearabouthistheoriesanddiscoveries.Now
the Embassy had become a benign prison. But at least for the time being
he was spared real imprisonment. This gave him the slender hope that
everythingmightyetbesortedoutamicably.
HopegrewasweekafterweekwentbyandtheAmbassadorappearedto
work assiduously on his behalf. The spring came, he could sit in the great
park that surrounded the villa, and enjoy elevated views right across the
citytoSt.Peters onthefarsideoftheTiberandadmirethedomethathis
greatTuscancompatriotMichelangelohadconstructed.Buthewasracked
withrheumatism,andthenewsfromhisfamilybackhomeinFlorencewas
troubling: the plague had flared up once more. The Florentines heard the
constantringingofsmallbellsintheeveningdarkness,announcingthatthe
corpse-bearerswereatwork.
In reality, the Ambassador achieved little by his enquiries, other than
togaintime.Butherevealednoneofthisinordertosparetheoldmanas
muchanxietyaspossible.Finally,on9April,thesummonscame:theGrand
Duke’smathematicianandphilosopher,signorGalileoGalilei,hadtoappear
before the Holy Office, also known as the Inquisition, in three days’ time.
There he would be interrogated and incarcerated for an indefinite period,
untiljudgementwasdeliveredinthecaseagainsthim.