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The Lynx and the Telescope
The Parallel Worlds of Cesi and Galileo
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Set in the context of Counter-Reformation Rome, this book focuses on the twenty-year long relationship (1611-1630) between Galileo Galilei and Federico Cesi, the founder of the Academy of the Lynx-eyed. Contrary to the historiographical tradition, it demonstrates that the visions of Galileo and Cesi were not at all convergent. In the course of the events that led to the adoption of the anti-Copernican decree of 1616, Galileo realized that the Lynceans were not prepared to support his battle for freedom of thought. In addition to identifying the author of the anonymous denunciation of Galileoâs Assayer, Paolo Galluzzi offers an original reconstruction of the dynamics which culminated in the Churchâs condemnation of the famous Tuscan scientist in 1633.
This book was originally published in Italian as Libertà di filosofare in naturalibus: I mondi paralleli di Cesi e Galileo (Storia dellâAccademia dei Lincei, Studi 4). Rome: Scienze e Lettere, Editore Commerciale, 2014.
This book was originally published in Italian as Libertà di filosofare in naturalibus: I mondi paralleli di Cesi e Galileo (Storia dellâAccademia dei Lincei, Studi 4). Rome: Scienze e Lettere, Editore Commerciale, 2014.
Paolo Galluzzi is Director of the Museo Galileo, Florence, member of the Royal Academy of Science, Stockholm and the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Rome. He authored more than 250 publications on Leonardo da Vinci, the Scientific Revolution, Galileo and scientific academies.
âMany of the details presented by Galluzzi will certainly be new to the uninitiated reader, as is the perspective of his narrative. Whereas Galileoâs scientific achievements in general and his conflict with the Church hierarchy are all well known and have been documented many times over, his relationship with the Accademia dei Lincei and the influence exerted in both directions present a new and interesting view on the episode in question. All this makes valuable reading for anyone who works in the field or is interested in these developments at the threshold of the scientific age.â
Wolfgang Osterhage, in: Isis, Vol. 110, No. 2 (June 2019), pp. 403-404.
âThis book is an important revision to our understanding of the Lincean Academy, one of the earliest scientific societies.â Sheila J. Rabin, Saint Peterâs University, emerita. In: Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 72, No. 3 (Fall 2019), pp. 1045-1046. Praise for the Italian edition:
âPaolo Galluzziâs most recent publication is a deep immersion into the first quarter of the seventeenth century, with a narrative that switches back and forth between Florence and Rome and between Federico Cesi, founder and soul of the Accademia dei Lincei, and Galileo Galilei, member of the same academy.â
Matteo Valleriani, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science. In: Isis, Vol. 106, No. 4 (December 2015), pp. 919-920.
âIn his latest big book, Paolo Galluzzi presents all the known material on the relations between Galileo and Cesi and evaluates it in his usual exact and judicious manner. As a bonus, he describes Cesiâs complicated publications on natural history with immense patience and admirable clarity.â
John L. Heilbron, University of California Berkeley. In: Quaderni storici, Vol. 150. No. 3 (December 2015), pp. 873-882.
âBy resorting to an impressive amount of primary sources and by tackling Cesiâs often obscure Latin writings, Galluzzi provides historians with a meticulous investigation of Cesiâs works and sheds new light on a key topic in Galileoâs career.â
Antonio Clericuzio, Università di Roma Tre. In: Nuncius, Vol. 30, No. 3 (2015), pp. 709-714.
Wolfgang Osterhage, in: Isis, Vol. 110, No. 2 (June 2019), pp. 403-404.
âThis book is an important revision to our understanding of the Lincean Academy, one of the earliest scientific societies.â Sheila J. Rabin, Saint Peterâs University, emerita. In: Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 72, No. 3 (Fall 2019), pp. 1045-1046. Praise for the Italian edition:
âPaolo Galluzziâs most recent publication is a deep immersion into the first quarter of the seventeenth century, with a narrative that switches back and forth between Florence and Rome and between Federico Cesi, founder and soul of the Accademia dei Lincei, and Galileo Galilei, member of the same academy.â
Matteo Valleriani, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science. In: Isis, Vol. 106, No. 4 (December 2015), pp. 919-920.
âIn his latest big book, Paolo Galluzzi presents all the known material on the relations between Galileo and Cesi and evaluates it in his usual exact and judicious manner. As a bonus, he describes Cesiâs complicated publications on natural history with immense patience and admirable clarity.â
John L. Heilbron, University of California Berkeley. In: Quaderni storici, Vol. 150. No. 3 (December 2015), pp. 873-882.
âBy resorting to an impressive amount of primary sources and by tackling Cesiâs often obscure Latin writings, Galluzzi provides historians with a meticulous investigation of Cesiâs works and sheds new light on a key topic in Galileoâs career.â
Antonio Clericuzio, Università di Roma Tre. In: Nuncius, Vol. 30, No. 3 (2015), pp. 709-714.
List of Figures
Preface
Abbreviations
Note to the Reader
1 âThe Secret of the Eyeglassâ
âA âPiece of Nonsenseâ?
âWinning Over the Minds at the Collegio Romano
âSecond Class Telescopes
2 Parallel Convergences?
âThe Encounter
âMutant Lynxes in the Academyâs Menagerie
âInitiation Ceremonies
3 Fluid Heavens
âWavering Certainties
âTycho or Telesio?
âThe Revival of Martianus Capella
âCoup de théâtre
âStorm Clouds Gather
4 Building a Friendship
âNew Spectacles in the Heavens
âBooks, Frontispieces, Theatres, Mirrors and Ladders
âEmbarrassing Omissions
âThe âLincean Telescopeâ
5 The Copernican System versus Holy Scripture
âThe Spectre of Giordano Bruno
âCelestial Animals
âQuestions of Character?
âThe League of Pigeons Launches the Attack
6 Images of Nature: Book or Theatre?
âProhibition âIs Also Done in Case of Doubtâ
âThe Natural Desire for Knowledge
âSimulated versus True Religion
âMiraculous Rains
7 Confronting the New Scenario
âCesi-Bellarmine: Attempts at Dialogue
ââThe Time Has Come to Grant Greater Freedom of Thoughtâ
âKepler Enters the Scene
8 Relaunching Copernicanism
âAriosto versus Tasso
âThe Copernican System Overthrown?
âA Delicate Balance
âThe Ebb and Flow of Fortune
âTommaso Caccini Back on Stage?
9 Metamorphosis of a Conjuncture: from âMarvellousâ to âUnfavourableâ
âBoating on the Lake
âAn Ambiguous Funeral
âA Copernican Carriage
âCalamitous Novelties
âThe Turncoat
âElephants and Mites
10 From the Heavens to the Bowels of the Earth
âThe Merging of the Two Projects
âUp and Down the Ladder of Nature
âFlowing Natures
âMother Earth
âBotany for Metaphysicians?
âThe Fate of Cesiâs Fossil Wood Researches
11 The Immaculate Conception of the Barberini Bees
âHoney as a Gift from the Heavens and the Earth
ââThis Work Has Been Done for the Sole Purpose of Pleasing Patronsâ
12 Plants as Compendium of Nature
âLaying Out the Pages of the Book of Nature
âSyntax, Painting, Theatre, Garden
âA Galilean Syntaxis?
âThe Multiple Gaze of the Botanist
âThe Elusive Geometry of Plants
âGlimmerings of Consciousness and Sexual Drives
âThe Bologna Stone Again
âThe Garden of Flavours
âFood for the Mind
âA Preformistic Conception?
âNature Was Not Created Once and for All
âNames as Shadows of Things
Epilogue
ââIt Has Been Impossible to Persuade Him to Make a Willâ
Bibliography
Index of Names
Preface
Abbreviations
Note to the Reader
1 âThe Secret of the Eyeglassâ
âA âPiece of Nonsenseâ?
âWinning Over the Minds at the Collegio Romano
âSecond Class Telescopes
2 Parallel Convergences?
âThe Encounter
âMutant Lynxes in the Academyâs Menagerie
âInitiation Ceremonies
3 Fluid Heavens
âWavering Certainties
âTycho or Telesio?
âThe Revival of Martianus Capella
âCoup de théâtre
âStorm Clouds Gather
4 Building a Friendship
âNew Spectacles in the Heavens
âBooks, Frontispieces, Theatres, Mirrors and Ladders
âEmbarrassing Omissions
âThe âLincean Telescopeâ
5 The Copernican System versus Holy Scripture
âThe Spectre of Giordano Bruno
âCelestial Animals
âQuestions of Character?
âThe League of Pigeons Launches the Attack
6 Images of Nature: Book or Theatre?
âProhibition âIs Also Done in Case of Doubtâ
âThe Natural Desire for Knowledge
âSimulated versus True Religion
âMiraculous Rains
7 Confronting the New Scenario
âCesi-Bellarmine: Attempts at Dialogue
ââThe Time Has Come to Grant Greater Freedom of Thoughtâ
âKepler Enters the Scene
8 Relaunching Copernicanism
âAriosto versus Tasso
âThe Copernican System Overthrown?
âA Delicate Balance
âThe Ebb and Flow of Fortune
âTommaso Caccini Back on Stage?
9 Metamorphosis of a Conjuncture: from âMarvellousâ to âUnfavourableâ
âBoating on the Lake
âAn Ambiguous Funeral
âA Copernican Carriage
âCalamitous Novelties
âThe Turncoat
âElephants and Mites
10 From the Heavens to the Bowels of the Earth
âThe Merging of the Two Projects
âUp and Down the Ladder of Nature
âFlowing Natures
âMother Earth
âBotany for Metaphysicians?
âThe Fate of Cesiâs Fossil Wood Researches
11 The Immaculate Conception of the Barberini Bees
âHoney as a Gift from the Heavens and the Earth
ââThis Work Has Been Done for the Sole Purpose of Pleasing Patronsâ
12 Plants as Compendium of Nature
âLaying Out the Pages of the Book of Nature
âSyntax, Painting, Theatre, Garden
âA Galilean Syntaxis?
âThe Multiple Gaze of the Botanist
âThe Elusive Geometry of Plants
âGlimmerings of Consciousness and Sexual Drives
âThe Bologna Stone Again
âThe Garden of Flavours
âFood for the Mind
âA Preformistic Conception?
âNature Was Not Created Once and for All
âNames as Shadows of Things
Epilogue
ââIt Has Been Impossible to Persuade Him to Make a Willâ
Bibliography
Index of Names
All interested in early modern European culture, the relations between science and religion and science and society, the history of scientific academies, Copernicanism, atomism, Galileo and the Scientific Revolution.