WereturnnowtothesequeloftheGalileocase。
HavinggainedtheirvictoryoverGalileo,livinganddead,havingusedittoscareintosubmissiontheprofessorsofastronomythroughoutEurope,conscientiouschurchmenexulted。Loudwastheirrejoicingthatthe“heresy。”the“infidelity“the“atheism“
involvedinbelievingthattheearthrevolvesaboutitsaxisandmovesaroundthesunhadbeencrushedbythegreattribunaloftheChurch,actinginstrictobediencetotheexpressedwillofonePopeandthewrittenorderofanother。Aswehaveseen,allbooksteachingthishatedbeliefwereputupontheIndexofbooksforbiddentoChristians,andthatIndexwasprefacedbyabullenforcingthiscondemnationupontheconsciencesofthefaithfulthroughouttheworld,andsignedbythereigningPope。
Thelossestotheworldduringthiscompletetriumphoftheologywereevenmoreseriousthanatfirstappears:onemustespeciallybementioned。TherewastheninEuropeoneofthegreatestthinkersevergiventomankind——ReneDescartes。
Mistakenthoughmanyofhisreasoningswere,theyborearichfruitageoftruth。Hehadalreadydoneavastwork。Histheoryofvortices——assumingauniformmaterialregulatedbyphysicallaws——asthebeginningofthevisibleuniverse,thoughitwasbutaprovisionalhypothesis,hadendedthewholeoldtheoryoftheheavenswiththevaultedfirmamentandthedirectionoftheplanetarymovementsbyangels,whichevenKeplerhadallowed。
Thescientificwarriorshadstirrednewlifeinhim,andhewasworkingoverandsummingupinhismightymindalltheresearchesofhistime。Theresultwouldhavemadeanepochinhistory。
HisaimwastocombineallknowledgeandthoughtintoaTreatiseontheWorld,andinviewofthishegaveelevenyearstothestudyofanatomyalone。ButthefateofGalileorobbedhimofallhope,ofallcourage;thebattleseemedlost;hegaveuphisgreatplanforever。[72]
[72]ForDescartes’sdiscouragement,seeHumboldt,Cosmos,London,1851,voliii,p。21;alsoLange,GeschichtedesMaterialismus,Englishtranslation,vol。i,pp。248,249,wherethelettersofDescartesaregiven,showinghisdespair,andtherelinquishmentofhisbestthoughtsandworksinordertopreservepeacewiththeChurch;alsoSaisset,DescartesetsesPrecurseurs,pp。100etseq。;alsoJolly,HistoireduMouvementintellectuelauXVISiecle,vol。i,p。390。
ButerelongitwasseenthatthistriumphoftheChurchwasinrealityaprodigiousdefeat。FromallsidescameproofsthatCopernicusandGalileowereright;andalthoughPopeUrbanandtheinquisitionheldGalileoinstrictseclusion,forbiddinghimeventoSPEAKregardingthedoublemotionoftheearth;andalthoughthiscondemnationof“allbookswhichaffirmthemotionoftheearth“waskeptontheIndex;andalthoughthepapalbullstillboundtheIndexandthecondemnationsinitontheconsciencesofthefaithful;andalthoughcollegesanduniversitiesunderChurchcontrolwerecompelledtoteachtheolddoctrine——itwasseenbyclear-sightedmeneverywherethatthisvictoryoftheChurchwasadisastertothevictors。
Newchampionspressedon。Campanella,fullofvagariesashewas,wrotehisApologyforGalileo,thoughforthatandotherheresies,religious,andpolitical,heseventimesunderwenttorture。
AndKeplercomes:heleadsscienceontogreatervictories。
Copernicus,greatashewas,couldnotdisentanglescientificreasoningentirelyfromthetheologicalbias:thedoctrinesofAristotleandThomasAquinasastothenecessarysuperiorityofthecirclehadvitiatedtheminorfeaturesofhissystem,andleftbreachesinitthroughwhichtheenemywasnotslowtoenter;butKeplerseestheseerrors,andbywonderfulgeniusandvigourhegivestotheworldthethreelawswhichbearhisname,andthisfortressofscienceiscomplete。Hethinksandspeaksasoneinspired。Hisbattleissevere。HeissolemnlywarnedbytheProtestantConsistoryofStuttgart“nottothrowChrist’skingdomintoconfusionwithhissillyfancies。”andassolemnlyorderedto“bringhistheoryoftheworldintoharmonywithScripture“:heissometimesabused,sometimesridiculed,sometimesimprisoned。ProtestantsinStyriaandWurtemberg,CatholicsinAustriaandBohemia,pressuponhimbutNewton,Halley,Bradley,andothergreatastronomersfollow,andtoscienceremainsthevictory。[73]
[73]ForCampanella,seeAmabile,FraTommasoCampanella,Naples,1882,especiallyvol。iii;alsoLibri,vol。iv,pp。149etseq。
Fromundus,speakingofKepler’sexplanation,says,“Vixteneoebullientemrisum。”ThisisalmostequaltotheNewYorkChurchJournal,speakingofJohnStuartMillas“thatsmallsciolist。”
andoftheprefacetoDr。Draper’sgreatworkas“chippering。”
Howajournal,generallysofairinitstreatmentofsuchsubjects,cancondescendtosuchweaponsisoneofthewondersofmodernjournalism。ForthepersecutionofKepler,seeHeller,GeschichtederPhysik,vol。i,pp。281etseq;alsoReuschle,KeplerunddieAstronomie,Frankfurta。M。,1871,pp。87etseq。
Thereisapoeticjusticeinthefactthatthesetwolast-namedbookscomefromWurtembergprofessors。SeealsoTheNew-EnglanderforMarch,1884,p。178。
Yetthisdidnotendthewar。Duringtheseventeenthcentury,inFrance,afterallthesplendidproofsaddedbyKepler,noonedaredopenlyteachtheCopernicantheory,andCassini,thegreatastronomer,neverdeclaredforit。In1672theJesuitFatherRicciolideclaredthattherewerepreciselyforty-nineargumentsfortheCopernicantheoryandseventy-sevenagainstit。Evenafterthebeginningoftheeighteenthcentury——longafterthedemonstrationsofSirIsaacNewton——Bossuet,thegreatBishopofMeaux,theforemosttheologianthatFrancehaseverproduced,declareditcontrarytoScripture。
Nordidmattersseemtoimproverapidlyduringthatcentury。InEngland,JohnHutchinson,aswehaveseen,publishedin1724hisMoses’PrincipiamaintainingthattheHebrewScripturesareaperfectsystemofnaturalphilosophy,andareopposedtotheNewtoniansystemofgravitation;and,aswehavealsoseen,hewasfollowedbyalonglistofnotedmenintheChurch。InFrance,twoeminentmathematicianspublishedin1748aneditionofNewton’sPrincipia;but,inordertoavertecclesiasticalcensure,theyfeltobligedtoprefixtoitastatementabsolutelyfalse。Threeyearslater,Boscovich,thegreatmathematicianoftheJesuits,usedthesewords:“Asforme,fullofrespectfortheHolyScripturesandthedecreeoftheHolyInquisition,I
regardtheearthasimmovable;nevertheless,forsimplicityinexplanationIwillargueasiftheearthmoves;foritisprovedthatofthetwohypothesestheappearancesfavourthisidea。”
InGermany,especiallyintheProtestantpartofit,thewarwasevenmorebitter,anditlastedthroughthefirsthalfoftheeighteenthcentury。EminentLutherandoctorsofdivinityfloodedthecountrywithtreatisestoprovethattheCopernicantheorycouldnotbereconciledwithScripture。Inthetheologicalseminariesandinmanyoftheuniversitieswhereclericalinfluencewasstrongtheyseemedtosweepallbeforethem;andyetatthemiddleofthecenturywefindsomeoftheclearest-headedofthemawareofthefactthattheircausewaslost。[74]
[74]ForCassini’sposition,seeHenriMartin,HistoiredeFrance,vol。xiii,p。175。ForRiccioli,seeDaunou,EtudesHistoriques,vol。ii,p。439。ForBoussuet,seeBertrand,p。41。
ForHutchinson,seeLyell,PrinciplesofGeology,p。48。ForWesley,seehiswork,alreadycited。AstoBoscovich,hisdeclaration,mentionedinthetext,wasin1746,butin1785heseemedtofeelhispositioninviewofhistory,andapologizedabjectly;Bertrand,pp。60,61。SeealsoWhewell’snoticeofLeSueurandJacquier’sintroductiontotheireditionofNewton’sPrincipia。ForthestruggleinGermany,seeZoeckler,GeschichtederBeziehungenzwischenTheologieundNaturwissenschaft,vol。ii,pp。45etseq。
In1757themostenlightenedperhapsinthewholelineofthepopes,BenedictXIV,tookupthematter,andtheCongregationoftheIndexsecretlyallowedtheideasofCopernicustobetolerated。Yetin1765Lalande,thegreatFrenchastronomer,triedinvainatRometoinducetheauthoritiestoremoveGalileo’sworksfromtheIndex。EvenatadatefarwithinourownnineteenthcenturytheauthoritiesofmanyuniversitiesinCatholicEurope,andespeciallythoseinSpain,excludedtheNewtoniansystem。In1771thegreatestofthemall,theUniversityofSalamanca,beingurgedtoteachphysicalscience,refused,makinganswerasfollows:“Newtonteachesnothingthatwouldmakeagoodlogicianormetaphysician;andGassendiandDescartesdonotagreesowellwithrevealedtruthasAristotledoes。”
Vengeanceuponthedeadalsohascontinuedfarintoourowncentury。Onthe5thofMay,1829,agreatmultitudeassembledatWarsawtohonourthememoryofCopernicusandtounveilThorwaldsen’sstatueofhim。
Copernicushadlivedapious,Christianlife;hehadbeenbelovedforunostentatiousChristiancharity;withhisreligiousbeliefnofaulthadeverbeenfound;hewasacanonoftheChurchatFrauenberg,andoverhisgravehadbeenwrittenthemosttouchingofChristianepitaphs。Naturally,then,thepeopleexpectedareligiousservice;allwasunderstoodtobearrangedforit;theprocessionmarchedtothechurchandwaited。Thehourpassed,andnopriestappeared;nonecouldbeinducedtoappear。Copernicus,gentle,charitable,pious,oneofthenoblestgiftsofGodtoreligionaswellastoscience,wasevidentlystillundertheban。Fiveyearsafterthat,hisbookwasstillstandingontheIndexofbooksprohibitedtoChristians。
TheeditionoftheIndexpublishedin1819wasasinexorabletowardtheworksofCopernicusandGalileoasitspredecessorshadbeen;butintheyear182Ocameacrisis。CanonSettele,ProfessorofAstronomyatRome,hadwrittenanelementarybookinwhichtheCopernicansystemwastakenforgranted。TheMasteroftheSacredPalace,Anfossi,ascensorofthepress,refusedtoallowthebooktobeprintedunlessSettelerevisedhisworkandtreatedtheCopernicantheoryasmerelyahypothesis。OnthisSetteleappealedtoPopePiusVII,andthePopereferredthemattertotheCongregationoftheHolyOffice。Atlast,onthe16thofAugust,182O,itwasdecidedthatSettelemightteachtheCopernicansystemasestablished,andthisdecisionwasapprovedbythePope。Thisarousedconsiderablediscussion,butfinally,onthe11thofSeptember,1822,thecardinalsoftheHolyInquisitiongraciouslyagreedthat“theprintingandpublicationofworkstreatingofthemotionoftheearthandthestabilityofthesun,inaccordancewiththegeneralopinionofmodernastronomers,ispermittedatRome。”ThisdecreewasratifiedbyPiusVII,butitwasnotuntilthirteenyearslater,in1835,thattherewasissuedaneditionoftheIndexfromwhichthecondemnationofworksdefendingthedoublemotionoftheearthwasleftout。
Thiswasnotamomenttoosoon,for,asifthepreviousproofshadnotbeensufficient,eachofthemotionsoftheearthwasnowabsolutelydemonstratedanew,soastoberecognisedbytheordinaryobserver。Theparallaxoffixedstars,shownbyBesselaswellasothernotedastronomersin1838,clinchedforeverthedoctrineoftherevolutionoftheeartharoundthesun,andin1851thegreatexperimentofFoucaultwiththependulumshowedtothehumaneyetheearthinmotionarounditsownaxis。Tomakethemattercomplete,thisexperimentwaspubliclymadeinoneofthechurchesatRomebytheeminentastronomer,FatherSecchi,oftheJesuits,in1852——justtwohundredandtwentyyearsaftertheJesuitshaddonesomuchtosecureGalileo’scondemnation。[75]
[75]ForgoodstatementsofthefinalactionoftheChurchinthematter,seeGebler;alsoZoeckler,ii,352。SeealsoBertrand,Fondateursdel’Astronomiemoderne,p。61;Flammarion,ViedeCopernic,chap。ix。Astothetimewhenthedecreeofcondemnationwasrepealed,therehavebeenvariouspiousattemptstomakeitearlierthanthereality。Artaud,p。307,citedinanapologeticarticleintheDublinReview,September,1865,saysthatGalileo’sfamousdialoguewaspublishedin1714,atPadua,entire,andwiththeusualapprobations。Thesamearticlealsodeclaresthatin1818,theecclesiasticaldecreeswererepealedbyPiusVIIinfullConsistory。Whewellacceptsthis;butCantu,anauthorityfavourabletotheChurch,acknowledgesthatCopernicus’sworkremainedontheIndexaslateas1835Cantu,Histoireuniverselle,vol。xv,p。483;andwiththisTh。Martin,notlessfavourabletotheChurch,butexceedinglycarefulastothefacts,agrees;andthemosteminentauthorityofall,Prof。
Reusch,ofBonn,inhisDerIndexdervorbotenenBucher,Bonn,1885,vol。ii,p。396,confirmstheabovestatementinthetext。
ForaclearstatementofBradley’sexquisitedemonstrationoftheCopernicantheorybyreasoningsupontherapidityoflight,etc。,andFoucault’sexhibitionoftherotationoftheearthbythependulumexperiment,seeHoefer,Histoiredel’Astronomie,pp。
492etseq。FormorerecentproofsoftheCopernicantheory,bythediscoveriesofBunsen,Bischoff,Benzenberg,andothers,seeJevons,PrinciplesofScience。