The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1912-06-20
A Romance
ofProsress
oALILEO-The Man Who Would
Take Nothing for Granted.
By ALBERT PAYsoN TERHUNE

ls-year-old Italian boy-small Al
most as q child. and pallid from over
study-sat dreaming In the gray shad-
ows Of the Pisa Cathedral one day In
1883. And from his dreams arose
some Of the greatest inventions and
discoveries ever accomplished. The
boy was Calico, eldest son Of an i'm
poverishsd Florentine nobleman. He
had spent his childhood devising
clever mechanical toys out of the
scantiest materials; had dabbled In
literature and painting a. he grew
up: had sought to become . monk.
and had been persuaded by his "a
Their to study medicine instead.
The young medical student, a. he
sat In the cathedral. fell to observing
the great bronze chandelier that hung
by . long rod from the roof. Instead
Of remaining motionless, the chande-
lier vibrated almost imperceptibly to
and fro. Calico wondered why. Ten
thousand other Italians had seen that
swaying lamp and had taken its mo
ton for granted. But Calico had .
way OF taking nothing for granted.
From idly watching the bronze lamps
movements he began TO note them
more carefully. He saw that they
were rhythmic. and that, whether the
swings we're far or slight, all occupied
the same length Of time. Again Cal
ileo wonder Why. He set himself to
study the cause. The results Of his
studies were gradual and occupied
more than half Q century. But for
convenience they will here be grouped.
He knew nothing of mathematics,
but in the working out Of the vibrat.
ing-lamp problem. mathematics would
be necessary. So he threw over med
icins and became Q mathematician.
The throb of that cathedral chands-
lier started him to ponderins over q
., theory propounded
~"s'ns many years before
x,.pr by a German named
~hfh Taught. Copernicus. name.
ly that the sun stands still and that
the earth revolves about II. Also,
that the various stars and the moon
se'V - byrNtul VI
Might not this alleged motion OF the
earth account for the vibrating Of
the chandelier! Calico resolted to
know more OF the matter. He was not
content to take for granted the old
doctrine that the earth stood still and
the sun circled about II. But to 20
further into the matter II was neces-
sary to study the heavens This he
had no competent means OF doing
So he went to work devising such
means. Some years earlier a Middle
burg optician had ground bits OF glass
in such way as to magnify objects
seen through them. The experiment
had not amounted to much. But Gal.
ileo thought he saw a way OF improv-
ing on II. He figured out that by
placing a convex lens and a concave
lens In certain position toward each
other anything seen through the two
would be enlarged. This is the prin-
ciple OF the modern opera. glass. He
experimental until he was able to
magnify threefold But this seeming.
ly marvellous achievement did not sat
isfy him. He continued grinding
lenses at various angles of refraction
until he had perfected an instrument
that would magnify 80 fold. In other
words. he had made a telescope.
Turning this on the heavenly bodies,
he at once revolutionized all astron.
omy
Europe went wild at the amazing
but II stirred up countless
rivals and enemies for the inventor.
Galileo's amazing declaration that the
earth moved was seized upon by these
rivals, who carried It TO the Inquisi-
ton. with the claim that II tended to
deny certain passages of Scripture
and was therefore heretical. The In
QUESTION, always eager TO torture or
put 10 death any socalled hereto"
warned Calico TO advance no more
such dangerous theories. In reply he
wrote book satirizing his opponents
and even limiting that the Inquisition
itself lacked the highest intelligence.
AS a result he promptly found him
self in trouble. He was again brought
TO trial and given
INC rensS ,o' the choice OF tor
rroe,s'"'na '"s ture or OF recant-
Truth. inc his statement
that the earth moves. Calico was
growing old and feeble. and courage
usually departs with strength. So he
recanted on his knees, admitting that
the earth was stationary. But. as he
rose to his feet, he shouted In a temp
est OF wrath: Just the same II DOES
lie was imprisoned In the In.
QUESTION dungeons for an indihnite
period. but through the influence of
powerful friends was later allowed
TO go free.
But. after his troubles with the In.
QUESTION, the inventors spirit and
health gave way. His children died.
many OF his friends deserted him. lie
went hopelessly blind. Yet even In
his blindness and old age his mind
harked back to the phenomenon OF
the swaying cathedral lamp that had
melted his whole career. Working on
the same theory OF rhythm, he in.
vented the pendulum, and applied its
use TO clockmaking. This was his
last achievement before. in 1912, he
died. lie had been born on the day
OF Michelangelos death. And the day
of his death also witnessed the birth