THE CRIME OF GALILEO (Time Reading Program Special Edition)

BRAND NEW Copy. An examination of the ordeals of Italian astronomer and physicist Galileo Galilei (1564 - 1642), and the intellectual climate of 17th Century thought. His acceptance of the Copernican system was rejected by the Catholic Church. Under threat of torture from the Inquisition, Galileo publicly recanted his heretical views. His statement amounted to "If the Vicar of Christ insists I must not affirm what I know . I give you submission and keep my truth . it is your lie, not mine, that you ask me to recite, and let it be on your own heads." The Church exacted deliberate, public social degradation --- a spirit breaking punishment. De Santillana suggests had Galileo's efforts been made a few centuries earlier, the Church would likely to have been receptive; the 17th Century marked a time when the Church was asserting unification over Europe.