Galileo’s Daughter: A Drama of Science, Faith and Love

Galileo’s Daughter: A Drama of Science, Faith and Love
Dava Sobel

From the international best-selling author of Longitude, Galileo’s Daughter is the fascinating story of the relationship between the great Italian scientist Galileo and his daughter, Virginia.Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) was the foremost scientist of his day, ‘the father of modern physics – indeed of modern science altogether’ in the words of Albert Einstein. Though he never left the Italy of his birth, his inventions and discoveries were heralded around the world. His telescopes allowed him to reveal a new reality in the heavens and to defend the astounding proposition that the Earth actually moves around the Sun. For this belief he faced the Holy Office of the Inquisition and was subsequently tried for heresy and threatened with torture. Galileo is brought to life here as never before – a man boldly compelled to explain the truths he discovered, human in his frailties and faith, devoted to family and, especially, to his daughter. Since there could be no hope of marriage for his illegitimate daughter Galileo placed her, aged thirteen, in a convent near him in Florence. She proved to be his greatest source of strength through his most difficult years. Through letters, contemporary writings, their voices are brought to vivid life and woven into Dava Sobel’s compelling narrative. Galileo’s Daughter tells the story of the most dramatic collision in history between science and religion. Dava Sobel illuminates an entire era, when the flamboyant Medici Grand Dukes became Galileo’s patrons, when the Bubonic plague destroyed a generation and prayer was the most effective medicine, when one man fought to reconcile the Heaven he revered as a good Catholic with the heavens he revealed through his telescope. Galileo’s Daughter is a rich and unforgettable story.Note that it has not been possible to include the same picture content that appeared in the original print version.

Galileo’s Daughter

A drama of science, faith and love

Dava Sobel

To the fathers,

Galileo Galilei

&

Samuel Hillel Sobel, MD,

in loving memory

Table of Contents

Cover Page (#u12df29ca-1002-5955-9309-13ca13be5689)

Title Page (#u480d4033-8060-543a-88c5-a12d22b45946)

PART ONE To Florence (#ud0ee6adb-2028-582d-a4b5-17f4acc5a575)

[I] She who was so precious to you (#u9dff1c26-84d9-5a0f-a32e-849a72d1e305)

[II] This grand book the universe (#u05740b25-92b8-59d8-951d-7a7314d48ac2)

[III] Bright stars speak of your virtues (#u47e4048d-afea-5f3c-a8b8-c19bcdd20520)

[IV] To have the truth seen and recognised (#ufaede887-138a-5dd3-a614-91d303fad72a)

[V] In the very face of the Sun (#uaeb6b018-6d95-50f0-9eec-5d7a389cbbcd)

[VI] Observant executrix of God’s commands (#u0f8ff110-4836-5f3e-b9a9-c0c49dbb4eed)

[VII] The malice of my persecutors (#u99cef7e8-14bb-5660-8dda-6e02670d62bd)

[VIII] Conjecture here among shadows (#ub02b2db5-bb78-5efa-9f21-44ce7bb18034)

PART TWO On Bellosguardo (#litres_trial_promo)

[IX] How our father is favoured (#litres_trial_promo)

[X] To busy my self in your service (#litres_trial_promo)

[XI] What we require above all else (#litres_trial_promo)

[XII] Because of our zeal (#litres_trial_promo)

[XIII] Through my memory of their eloquence (#litres_trial_promo)

[XIV] A small and trifling body (#litres_trial_promo)

[XV] On the right path by the grace of God (#litres_trial_promo)

[XVI] The tempest of our many torments (#litres_trial_promo)

PART THREE In Rome (#litres_trial_promo)

[XVII] While seeking to immortalise your fame (#litres_trial_promo)

[XVIII] Since the Lord chastises us with these whips (#litres_trial_promo)

[XIX] The hope of having you always near (#litres_trial_promo)

[XX] That I should be begged to publish such a work (#litres_trial_promo)

PART FOUR Care of the Tuscan Embassy, Villa Medici, Rome (#litres_trial_promo)

[XXI] How anxiously I live, awaiting word from you (#litres_trial_promo)

[XXII] In the comfort of the Holy Office of the Inquisition (#litres_trial_promo)

[XXIII] Vainglorious ambition, pure ignorance and inadvertence (#litres_trial_promo)

[XXIV] Faith rested in the miraculous Madonna of Imprueta (#litres_trial_promo)

[XXV] Judgment passed on your book and your person (#litres_trial_promo)

PART FIVE At Siena (#litres_trial_promo)

[XXVI] Not knowing how to refuse him the keys (#litres_trial_promo)

[XXVII] Terrible destruction on the feast of San Lorenzo (#litres_trial_promo)

[XXVIII] Recitation of the penitential psalms (#litres_trial_promo)

[XXIX] The book of life, or, A prophet accepted in his own land (#litres_trial_promo)

PART SIX From Arcetri (#litres_trial_promo)

[XXX] My soul and its longing (#litres_trial_promo)

[XXXI] Until I have this from your lips (#litres_trial_promo)