Galileo Galilei was brought to Rome to face charges of heresy on this date in 1633. He had been arguing with the Roman Catholic Church for some time about astronomical matters. Church doctrine taught that the Earth was the center of the universe, with the sun, moon, and stars all revolving around it. The Church pointed to the writings of Aristotle and Ptolemy, as well as the Bible, to support this view. To suggest anything else would imply that we did not enjoy a central place in God’s creation.
But Galileo had studied the work of Nicolaus Copernicus, a Polish astronomer who had put forward the theory that the Earth was not even the center of the solar system, let alone the whole universe. So Galileo wrote a book called Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems. Pope Urban VIII allowed the book to be published in 1632, provided that Galileo also presented the Church’s side of the argument. Galileo presented the material as a series of discussions between two philosophers — who each took the position of one of the theories — and a neutral but well-educated layman. A fool named Simplicius presented the Aristotelian theory, and was soundly defeated. Pope Urban could not let this stand, so he summoned Galileo to appear before the Roman Inquisition.
Galileo was found guilty of heresy and ordered to recant; he wrote: “Therefore, desiring to remove from the minds of your Eminences, and of all faithful Christians, this vehement suspicion, justly conceived against me, with sincere heart and unfeigned faith I abjure, curse, and detest the aforesaid errors and heresies, and generally every other error, heresy, and sect whatsoever contrary to the said Holy Church, and I swear that in the future I will never again say or assert, verbally or in writing, anything that might furnish occasion for a similar suspicion regarding me.” Galileo spent the rest of his life under house arrest in his villa in Arcetri, near Florence. The Dialogue was placed on the Catholic Church’s Index of Forbidden Books, where it remained until 1835.
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