“All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.”
- Galileo Galilei, 1564 - 1642
“If you could see the earth illuminated when you were in a place as dark as night, it would look to you more splendid than the moon.”
- Galileo Galilei, 1564 - 1642
Other quotes by Galileo:
"Curiosity is the key to problem solving."
"Two truths cannot contradict one another."
"Nature is relentless and unchangeable, and it is indifferent as to whether its hidden reasons and actions are understandable to man or not."
"Philosophy [nature] is written in that great book which ever is before our eyes -- I mean the universe -- but we cannot understand it if we do not first learn the language and grasp the symbols in which it is written."
"...and the Earth, turning upon itself, moves round the Sun."
"You cannot teach a man anything, you can only help him find it within himself."
"I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn't learn something from him."
"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use."
"He who does not know the truth is only a fool. But he who knows it and calls it a lie is a criminal."
For a very long time, it was widely believed - even taken for granted - throughout the Christian world that the Earth was the center of the universe, and that man was made in God’s image, and that this planet that was the center of the universe was, by right, to be ruled over by man. But science began to challenge these automatic and unquestioned beliefs in human supremacy. First, the very notion that the Earth was the center of the universe, and that all else revolved around it, was disproven. Those who advocated this had to face persecution. Nicolas Copernicus, the man who first proved this, published his findings posthumously. Galileo Galilei had to endure the dangers of a trial that could easily have cost him his life.
The extremes to which the Church fought certain things over the course of history has been in evidence throughout it's history, from the idea that the Earth was not the center of the Earth, to the Inquisition, to the still ongoing denial of evolution and the Big Bang theory, and even climate change. Remember, they forced Galileo to deny what he knew to be true, and which logic dictated was true, and yet he got off lightly, all things considered. Many others were tortured, even burned at the stake, as heretics. Or basically setting up a division of New World territories between Spain and Portugal, while trying to force native peoples in the Americans and elsewhere to And of course, going still further back in history, you cannot simply pretend that the Church did not hold non-believers in contempt, and destined to the fires of Hell for all eternity, while some official believers who were almost monsters were forgiven some incredible, staggering sins.
Ultimately, however, the truth proved to power, and religious authorities were forced to concede, albeit reluctantly, that they had been in the wrong. Pope John Paul II finally acknowledged that the Roman Catholic Church had been wrong to condemn Galileo for illustrating that the Earth revolved around the Sun. It only took three and a half centuries for them to do so.
Galileo did something that few would be willing to do: he literally risked his life in the cause of the advancement of human knowledge. That is why he is remembered and even often revered - rightly, I believe - to this day, centuries after his death. We are, collectively, better off for him, and his scientific discoveries. For this reason, I wanted to honor him on this, the anniversary of his birthday some 458 years ago.
Thought it would be appropriate to at least share a video about a little of what Galileo endured, and what he contributed to our body of human knowledge. Again, this world is better for Galileo having been a part of it.
Galileo Galilei Quotes - 21 Inspirational Sayings Of The Astronomer BY CHRISTOPH SCHULZ, JUNE 7, 2021:
https://www.careelite.de/en/galileo-galilei-quotes-sayings/
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