Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love by
Dava Sobel My review
Galileo was one of the foremost scientists of the Renaissance and his troubles with the authorities of the Catholic church are well known, with a grudging apology and an admission that the Earth does indeed orbit the Sun being offered only recently. It is tempting to paint his life as a simple conflict of science and religion, but in this book Dava Sobel offers a much more rounded and nuanced picture of the man. Drawing on his published works, letters, trial documents and most intriguingly a series of letters sent to him by his beloved daughter, Sobel shows how Galileo lived and worked, and also the harsh realities of life in Italy at the time with the plague being a constant threat.
After acquiring an early telescope and improving the design, Galileo was able to observe such wonders as the moons of Jupiter, the phases of Venus, craters on the surface of the Moon and sunspots on the face of the Sun which convinced him that the Copernican view of the solar system was not only true but could be demonstrated to be so. He distributed telescopes to various nobles and other influential people, and propounded his views in various letters and debates causing him to be denounced to the Inquisition. A decree was issued declaring heliocentrism to be "false and contrary to Scripture", but as a rational Catholic Galileo was sure that it was his accusers that were misinterpreting scripture for their own ends. He began work on his 'Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems' that was to prove to be his undoing in years to come.
The most interesting and moving sections of the book are the letters sent to Galileo by his daughter Virginia, later to become Maria Celeste when she entered the nunnery of San Matteo in Arcetri where she was to spend the rest of her life. Unfortunately Galileo's replies to his daughter were lost, presumably destroyed by an Abbess nervous of being associated with somebody accused of holding heretical views, but the letters offer a unique view of the minutiae of life in 17th century Italy.
The details of Galileo's trial and the vindictive punishment made me angry at the arrogance of the Inquisition and the Pope, and the arguments offered have little to do with theology and are purely concerned with political power and control. It is heartening that Galileo did have supporters both within and without the Church, although it would take centuries before their arguments were acknowledged.
Galileo's true legacy is the value of experimental science and observation, above the Aristotelian theoretical world view, and if reading this book encourages anyone to pursue an interest in looking at how things really are rather than how you imagine them to be, then it will have done its job.
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