Who Was Galileo? by Demuth Patricia Brennan

Author:Demuth, Patricia Brennan [Demuth, Patricia Brennan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2015-02-05T00:00:00+00:00

Galileo hoped the book would also attract a wealthy patron—such as the Medici family. Finding a good patron was important to Renaissance scholars. Patrons gave them money to support their work. The Medicis were not only the rulers of Tuscany. They were also known to be very generous patrons.

So Galileo dedicated The Starry Messenger to Grand Duke Cosimo II. He was head of the Medicis in Italy. Galileo presented the book to the grand duke along with the telescope he’d used to search the heavens. And Galileo didn’t stop there. He named the four Jupiter moons the Medicean Stars, after the four Medici brothers. (Today, the moons of Jupiter have different names—Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.)

Galileo’s flattery paid off. The grand duke appointed him chief mathematician and philosopher of the royal court. Galileo no longer had to teach. He was free to devote all his time to research.

Soon, Galileo left Padua and moved back to his beloved Florence. Meanwhile, his book was causing an uproar. Once again, his ideas opposed Aristotle’s.

Backers of Aristotle went on the attack. They said Galileo was a fraud who would do anything for attention. Some claimed that his telescope made things appear that weren’t there.

Galileo grew impatient with these scholars. He thought they were stuck in their ways. “They wish never to raise their eyes from [Aristotle’s] pages,” he said. “As if this great book of the universe had been written to be read by nobody but Aristotle.”

Galileo couldn’t see why an ancient Greek philosopher should have the last word on everything. In fact, he thought that Aristotle would agree with him if he looked through the telescope.

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