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About Torch of reason. (Silverton, Oregon) 1896-1903 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 9, 1900)
2 T H E TORCH OF REASON, S IL V E R T O N , O REGON , AUGUST 9, E. M. 300 (1900.) ulations of the Church with bitter mockery, and had spoken a lto gether too frankly of her dogma«. Against the au thor of Candle- o maker«, who «coiled at the m um mery of relics and the hypocrisy of ecclesiastics, who com pared C hrist to a C entaur, who had attacked u ith a ll b is _>tre; iiu t t i t he fou n d ation p illar of the C hurch, the holy A ristotle, «he m ight have been in a necessarily defensive a ttitu d e th a t does not excuse her proceeding, but shows it in a m ilder light. In G alileo’s case, on the contrary, it concerned a scholar, who w ithout m aking an attack on the teaching of the C hurch, w ithout deviating in any way from the objects of hi« physical and astronom ical studies, merely wished to lay before the world the results of hi« investiga tions. Shortly after (1608) Galileo learned th a t a Dutch optician, Jo h an n Lippershey in M iddleburg, had, by the com bination of several lenses, produced an in stru m en t with which the heavenly bodies could be seen more distinctly. This led him to make for him self a tele scope (1609) in order to extend the field of vision, and to gain a deeper insight into the construction of the universe, as well as into the pe cu liarities of the heavenly bodies, th an had thus far been possible to Copernicus, Tycho B rahe and hi« friend Kepler. The hoped-for re su lt was a tta in e d ; he im m ediately discovered the satellite« of Ju p iter, described in his Sidereus N uncius (1610), the moon-like phases of Venus and M ercury predicted by Copernicus, and finally the su n spots (October, 1610), which proved the revolution of the «un on it« axis, already taught by Copernicus. These discoveries were so m any confirm ations of the Copernican system; the planets were clearly shown to be dark bodies, which, like the moon and earth, received their light from the sun; and the satellites of J u p ite r were brought to view a« a m in iatu re model of the solar system . I t was not long, however, before the discoveries effected through G alileo’« telescope were branded as mere h allucinations and delusions. Then did the m aster pour forth his troubles to Kepler, his friend to the north of the Alps: “ You are the first and alm ost the only one who, w ithout having seen for himself, gives full credence to my sta te m ents. W hat will you say of the first teacher« of P ad u a, who, when I m ade them the offer, would neither look at the planet« or the moon through the telescope, nor even exam ine the latter? Men of this class regard philosophy as a book like the Aeneid or the O dys sey, and believe th a t tru th is not to be sought either in the world or in n atu re, but only in a com parison of texts. How you would have laughed, when at Pisa the first teacher in the university there en- patron, the A rchduke Leopold of the lo th of Septem ber, 1632. He deavored, in the piesence of the A ustria, with a note which con- was not for a moment in doubt grand duke, to draw the new h ea v -jta in e d the following w o rd s: “ Be- th a t he was now delivered over to en ly bodies from the sky with cause I am now aw are th at it is fit- the mercy of the Jesuits, and that logical dem onstrations, as though tin g to believe and to obey the de- in spite of all hi« intercession he with magical conjurations!” cisinns of the superior«; they being m ust expect the worst. He wrote: Soon after, a Dominican m onk, directed hv a higher intelligence to “ I hear from a reliable source th at Caccini of Florence, in a sermon which my m ind is too base to soar the .Jesuit fathers have inspired on a text which seemed m ade for alone, I regard th is work, which I those in a u th o rity with the con- b o b r o r -imne t » ' ■ t o you, so far as i t the occasion, Ï e men oi u au iee , the e two-fold more abom inable and more harm - why stand ye g azin g u p in to the assum ption of th heaven?” thundered against the movement of the earth , even though ful to the Church th an the writings m an who dared attack the infalli it contains one of the argum ents of L u th er and Calvin. . . .’ bility of the orthodox in terp re ta which I brought forw ard in coi- Concern for his future, aud the tion of the Bible as the result of roboration of th a t view, merely as journey, in those days so tiresome, mere star-gazing. He was joined a poem or ra th e r as a dream ; as had so weakened him th a t the am by F ath er L orini, his friend and a such ycur highness may receive it. bassador feared for his life. For member of the same order, who But even poets a t tim es place a we m ust consider th a t the prospect added a denunciation of the e r value on one or an o th er of their of torture and the stake never once roneous teachings of the Florentine fancies, so likewise do I place some left the sick old m an in the prison of the lnq u isitio u . The burning of physicist, addressing it to the Holy value on this, my d ream .” N aturally such utterances a l G iordano B runo (1600) arid Lucilio Office in Rome. It was well re ceived, and im m ediately prelim ways reached the ears of the pious V anini [1619] were still fresh in in ary and secret proceedings were fathers, and roused them to re memory, and Galileo had no desire instituted against the offender. newed fury. At this tim e Kepler, to be a hero of the faith. He had W ith th a t began the evar m em or in Prague, although in the service no longing for the m a rty r’s crown, of his apostolic m ajesty, also ac nor was he a philosopher, whom it able trial of Galileo. Galileo, who at the outset knew knowledged him self as favoring the m ight disgrace to give up his con nothing of these proceedings secretly Copernican theory, and in the same victions; he was sim ply a n a tu ra l begun against him , stirred up his year (1618) in which G alileo’s work ist, whose observations were not a t adversaries still more hy c o n tin u began to stir up discussions, be tacked, but who was only forbidden ing to rely on his ju st claim s in an m ade the im m ortal discovery o f to give them a precise in te rp re ta open letter to the Dowager G rand the th ird law governing the move tion. He rem ained tw enty-three Duchess. “ F irst tak e care,” he m ents of the planets. In the same days im prisoned in the palace of writes, “ to refute the argum ents o f year, also, occurred the first rising the in q u isitio n , and was brought Copernicus and his followers, and of the P ro testan ts in Prague, which before his judges four times. Ou leave the concern of condem ning ushered in the T h irty Y ears’ War. the 16th of Ju n e, 1633, a decree them as heretical or erroneous to Therefore the C hurch, at th a t tim e was issued by the Holy Office, those to whom it belongs; but do under the direction of the Jesuits, which arranged the crim inal pro not hope front the discreet as well believed th a t il ought to make a ceedings and threaten ed Galileo as intelligent fathers of the C hurch, ruthless attem p t to win back the with the rack in case he would not and from their absolute wisdom territory lost through the R eform a confess the whole tru th . On the which cannot err, th a t rash de tion, even though the peace and 21«t of Ju n e the last trial ex am in cision to which you, urged on by prosperity of the whole of C entral ation took place, of which it is said personal interests and passions, Europe should be destroyed there in the ex tan t verdict pronounced would allow yourself to be hurried. by. There was felt only too well on the following d a y : “ As it seemed For it is indeed beyond doubt th at the close relationship between the to us, however, th a t the whole in regard to these or other sim ilar new astronom ical discoveries and tru th was not told by you in regard assertions which are not directly the opposition of the P ro testan t to your purpose, we cousidered it de fide, His H oliness the Pope has spirit to the a u th o rity of the necessary to have recourse to the alw ays the absolute power to pro C hurch. It is probable th a t now, exam en rigorosum against you, nounce them good or to condemn for the first tim e, was recognized where you answered as a C atholic.” The form ula of ab juratio n , which them , but it is not in the power of d istin ctly all th a t would result any hum an being to cause them to from the belief th a t the earth could probably followed im m ediately after be true or false or other th an they no longer, according to the views of the announcem ent of the sentence, are de facto from th eir n a tu re .” A ristotle, be looked upon as the contains, after the acknow ledgm ent These words, as bold as they were center of the universe, around of the justice of the sentence passed true, were certainly not calculated which everything should tu rn and upon him , the solemn prom ise to m ake his opponents more in all other stars revolve, even as the wrung from him in face of torture: thoughts and destiny of m ankind “ . . . w ith an upright heart dulgent. On the 2 4 th of F ebruary, 1616, should circle about the im m ovable and unfeigned sincerity I abjure, the commission convened by the rock of the C hurch at Rome, execrate and express my abhor- Holv Office unanim ously arrived a t W hen the discovery of A m erica reuce of the above-m entioned errors the following decision: T h a t the had dem onstrated the untenable- and heresies [nam ely, th a t the sun, declaration th a t the «un forms the ness of the old opposition to m ath- and not the earth , is the motionless center of the universe, and is w ith em atics and the teaching of the center of the universe], and swear out local m ovem ent in space, is antipodes, there was some m easure th a t in future I will never by word “ foolish and absurd from a philo of u n certain ty felt as to what was or w riting assert or m aintain any- sophical stan d p o in t,” and is “ her- to be done about the new teachings thing w hatever on account of eticaj from a religious standpoint, and discoveries; but now all at which I m ight incur sim ilar sus- inasm uch as it contradicts the once was seen th e aby3s which was picion.” tenets of H oly S cripture in m any opening in place of the old, sure T h at he at the same tim e added places, both according to the plain geocentric foundation for school to him self, “ It moves just the m eaning of the words and accord- and church. sam e," » and rem ained faithful to ing to the universal interpretation T he Pope, from a warm adm irer th is belief to the end of his life of the holy fathers and learned of Galileo, became a secret enemy, m ay, as has already been m en theologians.” and gave the Jesu its entire liberty tioned, he safely assumed. He had a t th a t tim e w ritten a of action in the m atter. G alileo’s He was released two days later work on th e phenomenon of the tria l before the Inquisition was from prison and assigned as resi tide and sent it (1618) to his i thereupon begun in great haste on dence, under constant ecclesiastical