The inquisition case Of Galileo- And yet it moves
By: Karthick Nambi
Tags: Europe, Astronomy, Science, Technology, History

Galileo Galilei: Source-Wikipedia

A weak man stood kneeling in front of an inquiry panel in the Vatican. It was the peak of inquisition, and heresy spared no one — the 50-year-old man was charged with discriminating Christian beliefs.

Though being a close friend of the Pope, he had to stand trial. The great mind confessed to his guilt and asked for pardon. The man was Galileo Galilei. He was asking forgiveness for saying that the sun is the center of the solar system and not Earth.

Early life:

Galileo Galilei was one of the greatest renaissance scientists born in Italy. Galileo got inspired by various other scientists of his time and read through their works.

Galileo heard the usage of the lens to see small objects termed as a microscope. He immediately jumped into the idea of modifying it and using it to see objects in the far distance.

His concept of telescope revolutionized astronomy. He observed that the moon is not entirely flawless, and it has craters. He discovered Jupiter’s moons too.

Galileo telescopes brought him business opportunities from Venice. Venice was known for its maritime activities and needed telescopes for navigation. Galileo provided state of the art telescopes to Venetians. Galileo also equipped Venice’s defenses with lenses to concentrate sunlight on enemy ships and make them catch fire.

Inquisition:

The Inquisition was in full force during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance . Any opinion which contradicts general Christian beliefs was considered heresy.

Anyone charged with heresy stands trial and trials usually end badly for the accused. New scientific ideas need to confirm with Christian theology. However, rebel scientists have already started challenge the Church.

Nicolaus Copernicus of Poland came up with the theory that, as per his calculations and observations, the sun is the center of the solar system. According to the Christian thinking of the Middle Ages, the Earth is the center of the solar system.

All the planets and even the sun revolve around the Earth. Many scientists looking into the sky have already spotted the anomaly, but no-one was ready to question the Church.

Galileo took up the quest to prove his theory of a sun-centered solar system by calculating the tidal waves of Venice. If Earth is the Center of the solar system, then Venice will have only one high tide in a day. On the contrary, Venice had two high tides in a day, thus proving Earth is not the Center of the solar system.



Based on Copernicus’s conclusion and his observations Galileo, too, came to the point that Earth is not the center of the solar system. Copernicus was considered a heretic. Church authorities across Europe burnt Copernicus’s books.

Galileo was enthralled with the new idea and wanted to publish a book on it. Galileo also wanted to avoid the wrath of the church.

The Dialogue:

The Dialogue: Source:Wikipedia

Galileo went to his friend the Pope with an idea. Galileo proposed writing a comedy play in which scientific ideas are portrayed as fiction.

The Pope agreed to the proposal. Galileo came up with the idea of composing the book based on dialogues between two friends and a moderator.

Galileo took the liberty of portraying one of the friends as the pope and also to represent the pope’s idea. The dialogue revolves around the discussion on the scientific facts proving that the sun is the center of the solar system and not the Earth. The Inquisition censor looked into the book, and the title got reduced to just “The Dialogue.”



Once the book was published, it caused problems in the Christian world, even for the Pope. Many critics raised concerns that the Pope’s portrayal is terrible in the book.

The book was banned, and all copies were confiscated. The book got added to the Vatican Blacklist.

Galileo was called to the Vatican to testify in front of the Inquisition. Galileo argued his point, but it fell on deaf ears as the inquisition had decided the verdict.

Galileo faced physiological torture of not having any communication with the outside world was. Galileo, at last, broke down and accepted to be guilty. Galileo said

And yet it moves

Conclusion:

The Inquisition gave a verdict of keeping Galileo under house arrest under a cardinal. Later he was released to house arrest in his villa in Florence.

During this time, he wrote the book two sciences, which was praised by Newton. He lived the rest of his life in loneliness. One of the greatest minds of humanity spends his last years in vain.