December 1634

Farewell.

I have been placed under house arrest, condemned to live out my remaining years under guard's watch. I will remain in Florence. I am deeply saddened by this turn of events, but I will have the stars to keep me company.

Farewell.

Image: Drawing by Galileo of the Pleiades as seen through his telescope.

April 1633

The Inquisition.

The formal interrogation by the Inquisition is complete. I have been detained these last weeks by my interrogators. But I have been treated well.

For a lesser sentence, I agreed to plead guilty as charged. I have made my confession. I have confessed that my writings on the Copernican theory were too strongly stated. I have offered to refute these writings in another text.

October 1632

Notification of Summons.

I have been summoned to Rome by the Inquisitor in Florence. While I cannot denounce what I believe, I fear for my life.


"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with senses, reason, and intellect has intended to forgo their use...He would not require us to deny sense and reason in physical matters which are set before our eyes and minds by direct experience or necessary demonstrations." Galileo Galilei

February 1632

Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems.

After some five years, I have finally completed my text. The authorities of the Church have granted final approval for its publication. My testament for the Copernican system has been printed with the blessing of the Church!

[Note: Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems was written in the form of a dialogue between three speakers: Salviati, a Copernican who speaks for Galileo himself; Sagredo, an open-minded man who gradually comes to accept Salviati's arguments; and Simplicio, a defender of the Ptolemaic world-view. The dialogue form allowed Galileo to claim impartiality as he was "equally" presenting both views–although he clearly weighted the dialogue toward the Copernican point of view.]

Image: Cover page and title page from published text.

April 1624

Rome.

While in Rome, I have had several audiences with Pope Urban VIII, my dear friend. He asserts that I can write of the Copernican theory, provided I frame it as a mathematical hypothesis.

Image: Portrait of Pope Urban VIII by Bernini Gian Lorenzo.

February 1616

A Warning!

By order of Pope Paul V, I have been warned against holding and defending the position that the Sun is the center of our universe. They have communicated with the Inquisition! Again I am called a heretic! I am forbidden to discuss the Copernican theory verbally or in writing.

Image: Portrait of Pope Paul V by Caravaggio.

December 1614

I hear tell that Tommaso Caccini has delivered a sermon, this Advent, against the notion of a Sun-Centered universe. I have been called a heretic!!


"I hold the sun to be situated motionless in the center of the revolution of the celestial orbs while the earth rotates on its axis and revolves around the sun." Galileo Galilei