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Chapter 13 The Scientific Revolution
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Galileo’s Testimony Before the
Catholic Church
ABOUT THE READING In Galileo’s time,
the idea of an earth-centered universe was
important to the teachings of the Catholic
Church. In 1633 the church questioned
Galileo about his belief that the sun—not the
earth—was the center of the universe. The
church found him guilty and forced him to
live in near-isolation for the last several years
of his life.
As you read consider how Galileo presents his
arguments. (Qs represent the questions asked by
the Church. As represent Galileo’s answers.)
Q: Whether he had anything to say.
A: I have nothing to say.
Q: Whether he holds or has held, and for how
long, that the sun is the center of the [universe] and
the earth is not the center of the [universe] but
moves also with diurnal motion.
A: A long time ago, that is, before the decision
of the Holy Congregation of the Index, and before
I was issued that injunction, I was undecided and
regarded the two opinions, those of Ptolemy and
Copernicus, as disputable, because either the one or
the other could be true in nature. But after the said
decision, assured by the prudence of the authorities,
all my uncertainty stopped, and I held, as I still
hold, as most true and indisputable, Ptolemy’s
opinion, namely the stability of the earth and the
motion of the sun.
From Galileo’s Daughter by Dava Sobel. Copyright © 1999 by Walker
Publishing Company, Inc. Reproduced by permission of the
publisher.
VOCABULARY
diurnal happening every
day
injunction legal act
forbidding something
disputable arguable
prudence good judgment
deeming supposing,
considering
condemned declared
wrong
The Holy Congregation of the
Index was a group that examined
books to determine if they were
acceptable to the Church. Galileo
is referring to the examination of
On the Revolution of the Celestial
Spheres by the Polish astronomer
Nicolaus Copernicus.
Ptolemy believed in an earthcentered universe. Copernicus
believed in a sun-centered
universe.
This refers to the decision by the
Holy Congregation of the Index to
have Copernicus’s book banned.
Galileo clearly speaks against his
own beliefs here. There was no
doubt that he believed, based on
his own observations, that the
earth moved around the sun.
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The Scientific Revolution
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Galileo’s Testimony Before the Catholic Church, continued
Q: Having been told that he is presumed to have
held the said opinion after that time, from the
manner and procedure in which the said opinion
is discussed and defended in the book he published,
indeed from the very fact that he wrote and published
the said book, he was asked therefore to freely tell
the truth whether he holds or has held that opinion.
A: In regard to my writing of the published
Dialogue, I did not do so because I held the
Copernican doctrine to be true. Instead, deeming
only to confer a common benefit, I set forth the
physical and astronomical reasons that can be
advanced for each side; I tried to show that neither
set of arguments has the force of conclusive
demonstration in favor of the one opinion or
the other, and that therefore to proceed with
certainty one had to resort to the decisions of
higher teaching, as one can see in many passages
in the Dialogue. So for my part I conclude that I
do not hold and, after the determination of the
authorities, I have not held the condemned
opinion.
Q: Having been told that from the book itself
and the reasons advanced for the affirmative
side, namely that the earth moves and the sun is
motionless, he is presumed, as it was stated, to hold
Copernicus’s opinion, or at least to have held it at
the time, therefore he was told that unless he decided
to proffer the truth, one would have recourse to the
remedies of the law and to appropriate steps against
him.
A: I do not hold this opinion of Copernicus, and
I have not held it after being ordered by injunction
to abandon it. For the rest, I am here in your hands;
do with me what you please.
And he was told to tell the truth, otherwise one
would have recourse to torture.
A: I am here to obey, but I have not held this
opinion after the determination was made, as I said.
Date
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Instead of including all of the
questioner’s statements, the record
provides a summary of what was
then said to Galileo.
Galileo’s book Dialogue
Concerning the Two Chief World
Systems, Ptolemaic & Copernican
was finished in 1630. Its
publication led to Galileo being
called to testify before the Church.
This phrase refers to the
decisions of the Church. Here
Galileo says that in his book he
merely presents the views of
Ptolemy and Copernicus, but that
the Church has the final say in
which view is correct.
The Church states that Galileo
appears, from the evidence in his
book, to accept the idea that the
earth moves. He must now say
that he rejects that idea, or he will
suffer the consequences.
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Galileo’s Testimony Before the Catholic Church, continued
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WHAT DID YOU LEARN?
1. What is Galileo’s attitude toward the Church’s questioners? Provide details from
the passage to support your answer.
2. Does Galileo’s portrayal of his book, the Dialogue, seem like one a scientist
would make?
3. Had Galileo admitted that he believed the sun to be the center of the universe, he
would very likely have been killed. Do you think he did the right thing? Why or
why not?
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
Chapter 13
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The Scientific Revolution