Sobel, Dava. Galileo’s
Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love.
Arguably the greatest scientific mind of the early modern
era, Galileo Galilei challenged the Catholic Church’s stance that the
Copernican theory that the Earth was not the stable center of the Universe,
while attempting to stay true to his faith, and Dava Sobel relies on the
letters of his eldest daughter Suor Maria Celeste Galilei to show the depth of
the conflict between the two imperatives.
These letters provide Sobel with the title for her work, although after
reading the text, the subtitle, “A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and
Love,” seems more apt than the main title, “Galileo’s Daughter,” because the
text focuses far more on Galileo and his life than Marie Celeste.
Indeed the title of Sobel’s work, in conjunction with the
opening pages, imply that Galileo’s tale will be told through the eyes of Marie
Celeste via her surviving letters to her father. The reality of Galileo’s Daughter is
quite different, with Marie Celeste’s letters not truly coming to the forefront
until Galileo’s confrontation with Pope Urban VIII and the Office of the Holy
Inquisition over his espousal of Copernicus’ work in his book Dialogue of
Galileo Galilei…Concerning the two Chief Systems of the World, Ptolemaic and
Copernican, Propounding inconclusively the philosophical and physical reasons
as much for one side as for the other.
The extensive bibliography and notes show that the vast majority of the
material in Galileo’s Daughter comes from sources other than Marie
Celeste’s letters to her illustrious father.
As a result, readers who expect to gather great insights into Galileo
though the eyes of his daughter may find themselves looking for more.
In truth, a biography that focused entirely on Suor Maria
Celeste Galilei’s life and her interactions with Galileo would be only
marginally interesting to any but the most dedicated Galileo scholars. These dedicated individuals are the ones who
seek out, as Sobel did, Marie Celeste’s letters are decipher them on their own,
or seek out direct translations of the type that appear scattered throughout
the text as supporting material. Rather
than taking that tack, Sobel seamlessly intertwines existing Galileo
scholarship with English translations of the letters to provide an emotional
and familial context for Galileo’s ordeal.
Sobel places Galileo’s work and life in historical
perspective by focusing on four key events: the Protestant Reformation of the
16th century, Copernicus’ promulgation of the Pythagorean theory of
the sun-centered solar system, the election of Galileo’s friend as Pope Urban
VIII, and Galileo’s refinement of the telescope as an astronomical
instrument. The first three factors
combined to negatively color the Church’s official response to the publication
of Galileo’s controversial Dialogue, while the third placed Galileo in
the position to confirm Copernicus’ theory that the Earth revolved around the
Sun through empirical observation.
Galileo’s confirmation of this theory is what placed him in conflict
with the Church in Rome and the Office of the Holy Inquisition. This conflict did not develop immediately,
and Sobel uses Marie Celeste’s letters to trace its course and impact on
Galileo’s psyche.
Galileo was first drawn into conflict with the Church as a
result of his popularity in Rome and elsewhere, which was derived from his
assault on the Aristotelian system of physics in his astronomical works The
Starry Messenger and History and Demonstrations Concerning Sunspots and
Their Phenomena. The Starry
Messenger described the surface of the moon and its phases, four moons
orbiting Jupiter, and movement of Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter across the
heavens. History and Demonstrations
Concerning Sunspots and Their Phenomena described and traced the paths of
sunspots during the Sun’s revolution on its axis. These two works combined with Galileo’s
public debates with critics regarding the behavior of masses in water to attack
the basis of Aristotelian and Biblical dictum that the heavens were forever
unchanging. Galileo’s success debating
his opponents and advocates of traditional views of physics was exacerbated by
the humiliation he dealt opponents through physical demonstrations, as well as
his popularity in the Roman and Florentine social scenes.
According to Sobel, the first indication that he might
experience problems with the church due to his scientific discoveries came from
a friend in Rome, who wrote to him, “that a certain crowd of ill-disposed men
envious of your virtue and merits met at the house of the archbishop there [in
Florence] and put their heads together in a mad quest for any means by which
they could damage you, either with regard to the motion of the earth or
otherwise.” This warning came during his
work on Bodies in Water, which disputed Aristotelian theories regarding
the behavior of objects floating in water and inflamed his enemies, may have
provided the final impetus Galileo needed to send his daughters into the
convent for their protection. The
publication of History and Demonstrations Concerning Sunspots and Their
Phenomena caused his critics to take things to a more dangerous level by
involving the Church hierarchy, and according to Sobel, Galileo gave them a
perfect opening to attack him.
The ammunition that Galileo’s critics used against him were
a letter he sent to his former student and friend Benedetto Castelli, who had
earned the displeasure of Pisa’s Grand Duchess Mother Madama Cristina with his
discussion of the moons of Jupiter and the motion of the planets around the Sun,
and a letter sent by Galileo to the Grand Duchess in an attempt to explain how
Copernican theory did not dispute the contents of the Bible. Galileo’s argument, which Sobel quotes
extensively, was that not only did Copernican theory explain Joshua’s stopping
of the Sun’s course across the sky better than Aristotelian theory, but that
the Bible was inspired by the Holy Spirit in such a way as to explain events
and the path to salvation to those who would not understand the more complex
workings of the universe. Galileo also
contended that Scripture could not be interpreted literally, but must be
accepted allegorically in order to avoid heresy at all turns. Unfortunately for Galileo his letter to
Castelli was copied and distributed repeatedly, only to fall into the hands of
his enemies. After altered copies of his
letters to Castelli were presented to the Office of the Holy Inquisition,
Galileo went to Rome to defend his theories before the Princes of the Church.
At this juncture, Sobel uses the letters of those around
Galileo to describe his mental state.
The Tuscan ambassador, Piero Guicciardini, noted that “He is
passionately involved in this fight of his and he does not see or sense what it
involves, with the result that he will be tripped up and will get himself into
trouble, together with anyone who supports his views. For he is vehement and stubborn and very
worked up in this matter and it is impossible, when he is around, to escape
from his hands.” However, she still has
not introduced much in the way of letters or personality of Marie Celeste. Granted her age at this point, thirteen
years, in Galileo’s career was such that the any letters may not have produced
significant insight into his life or character.
Galileo used his time in Rome to develop a new theory
concerning the Earth’s tides to support the theories of Copernicus without
using his observation of the heavens.
However, this new evidence would not assist him in his interviews with
the representatives of the Office of the Holy Inquisition. Based in part of the Council of Trent’s
dictum reserving to the church the sole ability of interpreting Scripture,
Copernican theory was declared heretical, and Galileo was formally instructed
to cease discussing or teaching the theories of Copernicus with anyone. While leaving Galileo free to research other
scientific and philosophical issues, this particular instruction would play a
large part in his formal trial for heresy after the publication of Dialogues.
It is that trial and his subsequent imprisonment that allows Sobel to use Marie
Celeste’s letters as the foundation into her revelation of Galileo the man.
The second half of Galileo’s Daughter, telling the
tale of Galileo’s trial before the Inquisition and imprisonment, provides Sobel
with the material to pain her picture of Galileo as a dedicated scientist,
Catholic, and father. It also allows her
to introduce Marie Celeste as a dutiful daughter both to Galileo and the
Church. Galileo’s second and most
serious misadventure with the Church was caused by his misplaced belief that
the election of his friend and fellow philosopher as Pope Urban VIII would
allow him more freedom to explore Copernican theories.
Marie Celeste’s letters, as presented by Sobel, present an
interesting mix of emotional support, need, descriptions of daily life in the
abbey, and the domestic affairs of running Galileo’s household. At least while Galileo was in Rome and during
his imprisonment, Marie Celeste ran his household from her home in the
abbey. One example of her concern for
Galileo is evident in a letter to him at Rome, “on the one hand, this gives me
great distress, convinced as I am that you find yourself with scant peace of
mind, and perhaps also deprived of all bodily comforts.” She later wrote to him to offer solace after Dialogue
was banned, saying, “My dearest lord father, now is the time to avail yourself
of that prudence which the Lord God has granted you, bearing these blows with
that strength of spirit which your religion, your profession, and your age
require. And since you, by virtue of
your vast experience, can lay claim to full cognizance of the fallacy and
instability of everything in this miserable world, you must not make too much
of these storms, but rather take hope that they will soon subside and transform
themselves from troubles into as many satisfactions. Many of the letters devote
large sections to the management of Galileo’s home and its grounds, such as the
disposition of wine, lemons, and beans, or maintenance of the structures. This part of Galileo’s Daughter is the
most compelling as it most clearly illustrates the relationship between Galileo
and Marie Celeste, and provides a clear picture of Italian life during the 17th
century.
What Dava Sobel has achieved with Galileo’s Daughter
is definitely not a biography of Suor Marie Celeste Galilei, or even a work
that focuses on her relationship with her father, but a fully textured look at
the life of her father Galileo in which Marie Celeste’s letters play a decisive
part in adding much of the color and emotion to the story. Sobel’s achievement with Galileo’s
Daughter is not limited to her portrayal of Galileo, his work, and
relationship with his children, but extends into international politics, Church
politics, and competition among Europe’s foremost thinkers for notoriety. She is also able to entwine all of the above
with a subtle examination of 17th century Italian life, at least for
those with a modicum of success, influence, and privilege. The overall effect is to immerse the reader
while expounding on the trials and tribulations of one of Europe’s most
influential thinkers.
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