Behind the Scenes at Galileo's Trial : Including the First English Translation of Melchior Inchofer's Tractatus Syllepticus

Galileo's trial in 1633 before the Roman Inquisition is one of the most frequently mentioned topics in the history of science. Galileo's encounter with the Catholic Church was not only a major turning point in the history of western culture; it is the paradigm case of the clash between the institutional authority of religion and the authority of scientific reason, a clash that has helped to define the modern era. Blackwell's new contribution to "the Galileo affair" concerns the official theological position against Galileo. The centerpiece of his project is the treatise entitled Tractatus syllepticus , written by Melchior Inchofer, S.J., whose judgment of the orthodoxy of Galileo's Dialogue had been requested earlier by the Holy Office and was then incorporated into the proceedings of the trial. At the time, Inchofer's judgment against Galileo's book was both detailed and harsh. That judgment formed the basis for Inchofer's subsequent Tractatus , the first English translation of which is included in this volume. Inchofer's text provides a new and fascinating way of looking at the defense of the guilty verdict. Blackwell's analysis of this material greatly enriches our knowledge of Galileo and his trial. Both legal and theological behind-the-scenes aspects of Galileo's trial are discussed. Because of a weak legal case, a plea bargain was arranged, extrajudicially, then sabotaged in the Holy Office before the final decision of the case. Through his close scrutiny of the specifics of the trial, Blackwell renders a picture that is more complex, and ominous, than the usual portrayal of the trial. "Embedded here is a real jewel: Blackwell's powerfully illuminating and sobering portrayal of Galileo's fraught relations with the Jesuit astronomer Christopher Scheiner. I know of no other account that shows with such clarity the theological constraints that bound the Catholic protagonists in the infamous 'Galileo affair' and how behind the scenes these constraints evolved and hardened." — Owen Gingerich, Professor Emeritus, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics "An original contribution to Galilean studies, Richard J. Blackwell's Behind the Scenes at Galileo's Trial is both an in-depth study of the trial and a careful and enlightening examination of the roles played by that understudied figure, Melchior Inchofer, and the famed Jesuit astronomer, Christopher Scheiner, in Galileo's condemnation. It is also a boon to have here English translations of Inchofer's Tractatus syllepticus and Jesuit works, including an excerpt from Scheiner's Prodromus ." — Irving Kelter, University of St. Thomas, Houston "This book is not the usual kind of Galileo fare. Blackwell makes no attempt to tell the whole story, but meticulously and judiciously analyzes background events, texts, and personalities in ways that illuminate and clarify the course and outcome of Galileo's campaign on behalf of heliocentrism and the trial with which it ended. Appendices include relevant texts in translation, as well as Jesuit procedural rules that played a central role in the drama. This is an outstanding contribution to Galileo scholarship." — David C. Lindberg, Hilldale Professor Emeritus of the History of Science, University of Wisconsin 0......Page 1 0 001......Page 2 0 002......Page 3 0 003......Page 4 0 004......Page 5 0 005......Page 6 0 006......Page 7 0 007......Page 8 0 008......Page 9 0 009......Page 10 0 010......Page 11 0 011......Page 12 0 012......Page 13 0 013......Page 14 0 014......Page 15 0 015......Page 16 0 016......Page 17 0 017......Page 18 0 018......Page 19 0 019......Page 20 0 020......Page 21 0 021......Page 22 0 022......Page 23 0 023......Page 24 0 024......Page 25 0 025......Page 26 0 026......Page 27 0 027......Page 28 0 028......Page 29 0 029......Page 30 0 030......Page 31 0 031......Page 32 0 032......Page 33 0 033......Page 34 0 034......Page 35 0 035......Page 36 0 036......Page 37 0 037......Page 38 0 038......Page 39 0 039......Page 40 0 040......Page 41 0 041......Page 42 0 042......Page 43 0 043......Page 44 0 044......Page 45 0 045......Page 46 0 046......Page 47 0 047......Page 48 0 048......Page 49 0 049......Page 50 0 050......Page 51 0 051......Page 52 0 052......Page 53 0 053......Page 54 0 054......Page 55 0 055......Page 56 0 056......Page 57 0 057......Page 58 0 058......Page 59 0 059......Page 60 0 060......Page 61 0 061......Page 62 0 062......Page 63 0 063......Page 64 0 064......Page 65 0 065......Page 66 0 066......Page 67 0 067......Page 68 0 068......Page 69 0 069......Page 70 0 070......Page 71 0 071......Page 72 0 072......Page 73 0 073......Page 74 0 074......Page 75 0 075......Page 76 0 076......Page 77 0 077......Page 78 0 078......Page 79 0 079......Page 80 0 080......Page 81 0 081......Page 82 0 082......Page 83 0 083......Page 84 0 084......Page 85 0 085......Page 86 0 086......Page 87 0 087......Page 88 0 088......Page 89 0 089......Page 90 0 090......Page 91 0 091......Page 92 0 092......Page 93 0 093......Page 94 0 094......Page 95 0 095......Page 96 0 096......Page 97 0 097......Page 98 0 098......Page 99 0 099......Page 100 0 100......Page 101 0 101......Page 102 0 102......Page 103 0 103......Page 104 0 104......Page 105 0 105......Page 106 0 106......Page 107 0 107......Page 108 0 108......Page 109 0 109......Page 110 0 110......Page 111 0 111......Page 112 0 112......Page 113 0 113......Page 114 0 114......Page 115 0 115......Page 116 0 116......Page 117 0 117......Page 118 0 118......Page 119 0 119......Page 120 0 120......Page 121 0 121......Page 122 0 122......Page 123 0 123......Page 124 0 124......Page 125 0 125......Page 126 0 126......Page 127 0 127......Page 128 0 128......Page 129 0 129......Page 130 Blackwell (emeritus, philosophy, Saint Louis U.) justifies this addition to the vast literature on the 17th century trial of Galileo by noting that Inchofer's judgment against Galileo's Dialogue remained largely unknown in English because his Tractatus Syllepticus had not been translated until now. Translations of two other Latin works, one by a noted Jesuit astronomer, shed further light on the Church's case and why Galileo eventually confessed that his assertion that the Earth orbits the sun was heresy. The author's books include Galileo, Bellarmine, and the Bible (1991) and a translation of A Defense of Galileo, the Mathematician from Florence (1994). Annotation 2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Galileo's trial for heresy in 1633 before the Roman Inquisition is one of the most frequently mentioned topics in the history of science. This book focuses on the church's official theological position against Galileo.