More on Galileo's Daughter

I finished reading Galileo's Daughter over the weekend.  It is interesting to realize that we come to understand through Suor Marie Celeste's letters that she possessed a strong intellect and an ability to improve the lives of those around her, just as her father did, yet did not have a very strong self-image.  One can easily imagine that had she been born a male, she may have made a mark for herself in history, perhaps continuing some of his work.  Of course, it is impossible to accurately predict outcomes based on conjecture, but in reading her letters, and knowing the sad history of male assumptions that women were inferior in all areas, one could only wonder at the loss of insight, inventions, and social and technological progress that we have missed by putting all our eggs in the basket of white male privilege.

Certainly, Suor Marie Celeste could not have dreamed that her letters would be treasured 400 years after she composed them.  Of course, a mere letter from a daughter to a father, in itself, is not historical, and hers would never have been saved if not for her birth lottery victory of being Galileo's daughter, but he had other children, other progeny, and, even if we assume that it was Galileo's deep love for his daughter that compelled him to save her letters, it still reflects positively on her that he loved her so much, when one understands how valued male children were in that time as compared to female children.

It can also be rather humbling to realize that of the millions of people born in those days, very few have been remembered.  We are experiencing an increase in understanding our heredity, whether through family trees or DNA testing, but knowing the names of our ancestors who lived 3,4,5 or more generations before us, and knowing them as people are two very different things.  The reality is that very few of us, perhaps none of you who may be reading these words, will be more than part of the group of people who lived in the early 21st century.  We remember those whom we know who have passed through our memories, and perhaps communications.  But most people are eventually lost in the passage of time, when there are no longer anyone alive to recount what they looked like, what they liked to do, their smile, their mannerisms.  Their essence.  That is what is so unique about this book and the letters quoted within it.  Galileo is presented as more than just a famous inventor and astronomer, but as a man with faults and ailments, as a father, as a fellow citizen, as a man who understood the obstacles he faced in his quest for undiscovered truths, but persisted anyway, perhaps hoping for the best in a naive way, but accepting the consequences whatever they may be, all the while continuing his training of young minds, continuing his experimentation, and continuing his support of his children, especially his daughter, Suor Celeste Marie.

I had remembered poorly, some of the history of Galileo's fate after being convicted of heretical beliefs.  At first, he was merely "kept" at the home of a supporter, in Siena, where he continued to have visitors, and discuss his theories.  But, as time passed, the details of the sentence emerged, and all his books were banned from further publishing, not just "Dialogue".  Also, he was forbidden from teaching, and even of discussing his theories related to earth being in motion.  It would be over 100 years until a publisher was granted permission to include "Dialogue" in a posthumous collection of Galileo's works, but even then, certain disclaimers needed to be included as "Dialogue" remained officially banned.
Amazingly, it took about 200 years for "Dialogue of Galileo Galilei" was dropped from this list, when the Congregation of the Holy Office finally allowed books about modern astronomy which described the movement of the Earth.  Can you even imagine knowing something to be true, today, but having to wait until 2219 before it is officially recognized as true?

The biggest omission I had of Galileo's life, by far, was never being taught of his daughter.  Her sufferings along with Galileo as they awaited, first the verdict, then the details of the sentence, might be considered as big a part of his ultimate punishment as the banning itself, for Suor Marie Celeste dies soon after this travesty of judgment.  Her removal from his life, both emotional and physical as she spent a considerable amount of her time preparing various medicines, balms, and treatments for his various physical complaints, surely led to a reduced life expectancy for Galileo. 

A final bit of information that I did not know, was that one of Galileo's last students, Vincenzio Viviani, spent the remainder of his life trying to have Galileo's remains buried in a place of honor.  And, while he did not succeed, (it wasn't until 1737 that Galileo's remains were moved to a more honorable location), he secretly obtained the remains of Suor Celeste Marie and had her buried with her father.  There she lay, without inscription, until Vincenzio's tomb project was finally brought to fruition.  And there she lay today, without acknowledgement, buried with her father's remains, perhaps the most precious gift humanity could have provided for Galileo and his daughter.

As a side note, the book also included some interesting facts to help the reader place Galileo in history.  For instance, there has been some speculations regarding the fact that Michelangelo died February 18, 1564, 3 days after Galileo was born. 

Other interesting bits of information

Shakespeare was also born in 1564 (again, imagine if his writings remained banned for 200 years!).

Galileo published The Starry Messenger in 1610 after, by using his improved telescope, he discovers the moons of Jupiter. 

Galileo's Sunspot Letters is published in 1613, revealing more details which disprove the idea that the stars in the sky are fixed.

Galileo dies in early 1642; Isaac Newton is born on December 25th of that same year.

Newton publishes Principia in 1687 in which he proposed his laws of motion and universal gravitation, thereby justifying Galileo's discoveries for which he was condemned.

The University of Pisa, where Galileo studied but never earned his degree, grants him an honorary degree, in 1892, upon the celebration of the 250th anniversary of his death.

In 1979, over 400 years after his death, Pope John Paul II calls for theologians, scholars and historians to reexamine Galileo's case.

In 1989, NASA launches the Galileo spacecraft to study the moons of Jupiter at close range.

In 1992, Pope John Paul II publicly endorses Galileo's philosophy.  In his declaration, Pope John reiterates the belief that, given the premise that we can not know God's plan, nor fully understand the reasons or meanings of Her creations, it might be best to withhold judgments by pretending to be the sole arbiter of the meaning of the bible, and perhaps seek truth by using all our gifts, intellect, reason, and deduction included.

OK, you caught me.  The pope didn't say that.  It is my interpretation of Galileo's overriding ability to not only not see religion and science as in competition, but that each compliments the other by combining truth in the physical as well as the spiritual realms.