RHC Fortnightly Quotemail
Compiled & Edited by Rob Chappell (@RHCLambengolmo)
Vol. XXIX, No. 7: February 15, 2025
Co-Editor: Sophie Fairgate
Art Director: Verena Keegan
Editorial Associate: Brinda Saelind
Editorial Assistant: Jessica Breckinridge
How long till my soul gets it right?
Can any human being ever reach that highest Light?
I call on the resting soul of Galileo,
King of night vision, king of insight!
à The Indigo Girls: “Galileo” (1992)
Editor’s Note
The Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) has been a favorite hero of mine since my child-hood days. Not only did he have the courage to speak truth to power in his own time, but his use and popularization of the astronomical telescope paved the way for the development of other types of telescopes, including the small monocular telescope that I wear around my neck to enhance my own vision of the everyday world around me. I look forward to the day when Galileo will be fully appreciated for his courageous efforts to build bridges of understanding between philosophy, science, and theology – a trio of disciplines that should be chanting in three-part harmony as they collectively uphold the foundations of our emerging global civilization.
In this fortnight’s feature, I have included a brief summary of Galileo’s life and legacy; an excerpt from his most famous book, the Starry Messenger, in which he describes his telescopic observations of the Milky Way; a classic poem about the Milky Way; and some marvelous poetry by our staff writers. Both of these “galactic” pieces reflect the age-old belief that the Milky Way is like a “rainbow bridge” that is followed by the souls of the blessed (like Galileo!) after their earthly lives are done. We conclude this week’s reflections with two poems by our blog’s writing staff about Galileo and his legacy.
“A Tribute to Galileo Galilei”
By Sophie Fairgate, Co-Editor
Famed Italian scholar,
Founded modern science,
And dared to challenge power.
With telescopes and ingenuity,
He discovered cosmic wonders,
Challenging ancient dogma,
And paving the way for truth.
Through persecution and defiance,
He never wavered or bowed,
Defying the church and the state,
For the pursuit of knowledge and freedom, he vowed.
His insights and discoveries,
Revolutionized human thought,
Paving the way for progress,
For science, philosophy, and hope.
Galileo's legacy,
Still shimmers like a star,
Reminding us to doubt and inquire,
For progress and enlightenment, we all must dare.
A tribute to Galileo,
The father of modern science,
For his quest to know the truth,
Let us honor him with gratitude, grace, and praise.
“The Story of Galileo”
Excerpted from an Expanded 19th-Century Edition of Foxe’s Book of Martyrs
The most eminent men of science and philosophy of the day did not escape the watchful eye of this cruel despotism. Galileo, the chief astronomer and mathematician of his age, was the first who used the telescope successfully in solving the movements of the heavenly bodies. He discovered that the Sun is the center of motion around which the Earth and various planets revolve. For making this great discovery Galileo was brought before the Inquisition, and for a while was in great danger of being put to death.
After a long and bitter review of Galileo's writings, in which many of his most important discoveries were condemned as errors, the charge of the Inquisitors went on to declare, “That you, Galileo, have upon ac-count of those things which you have written and con-fessed, subjected yourself to a strong suspicion of heresy in this Holy Office, by believing, and holding to be true, a doctrine which is false, and contrary to the sacred and divine Scripture – viz., that the Sun is the center of the orb of the Earth, and does not move from the east to the west; and that the Earth moves, and is not the center of the world."
In order to save his life. Galileo admitted that he was wrong in thinking that the Earth revolved around the Sun, and swore that – "For the future, I will never more say, or assert, either by word or writing, anything that shall give occasion for a like suspicion." But immediately after taking this forced oath he is said to have whispered to a friend standing near, "The Earth moves, for all that."
“This is the celebrated Galileo, who was in the Inquisition for six years, and put to the torture, for saying, that the Earth moved. The moment he was set at liberty, he looked up to the sky and down to the ground, and, stamping with his foot, in a contemplative mood, said, ‘Eppur si muove,’ that is, ‘Still it moves,’ meaning the Earth.”
à Giuseppe Baretti (1719-1789): The Italian Library (1757)
In this digital image, Galileo’s daughter, Virginia, is looking up at the Milky Way in a clear, dark sky. She corresponded extensively with her father after entering a convent during her teenage years. (Image Credit: The Editor -- @RHCLambengolmo)
An Excerpt from Galileo’s Starry Messenger (1610)
The next object which I have observed is the essence or substance of the Milky Way. By the aid of a telescope anyone may behold this in a manner which so distinctly appeals to the senses that all the disputes which have tormented philosophers through so many ages are exploded at once by the irrefragable evidence of our eyes, and we are freed from wordy disputes upon this subject, for the Galaxy is nothing else but a mass of innumerable stars planted together in clusters. Upon whatever part of it you direct the telescope straightway a vast crowd of stars presents itself to view; many of them are tolerably large and extremely bright, but the number of small ones is quite beyond determination.
“The Milky Way” (Anonymous)
Evening has come; and across the skies —
Out through the darkness that, quivering, dies —
Beautiful, broad, and white,
Fashioned of many a silver ray
Stolen out of the ruins of Day,
Grows the pale bridge of the Milky Way,
Built by the architect Night.
Dim with shadows, and bright with stars,
Hung like gold lights on invisible bars
Stirred by the wind's spent breath,
Rising on cloud-shapen pillars of grey,
Perfect it stands, like a tangible way
Binding tomorrow with yesterday,
Reaching to Life from Death.
Dark show the heavens on either side;
Soft flows the blue in a waveless tide
Under the silver arch;
Never a footstep is heard below,
Echoing earthward, as measured and slow,
Over the bridge the still hours go
Bound on their trackless march.
Is it a pathway leading to Heaven
Over Earth's sin-clouds, rent and riven
With its supernal light,
Crossed by the souls of the loved who have flown
Stilly away from our arms, and alone
Up to the beautiful, great, white Throne
Pass in the hush of night?
Is it the road that our wild dreams walk,
Far beyond reach of our waking talk,
Out to the vague and grand
Far beyond Fancy's uttermost range,
Out to the Dream-world of marvel and change,
Out to the mystic, unreal and strange —
Out to the Wonderland?
Is it the way that the angels take
When they come down by night to wake
Over the slumbering Earth?
Is it the way the faint stars go back,
Driven by insolent Day from his track
Into the distant mysterious Black
Where their bright souls had birth?
What may it be? Who may certainly say?
Over the shadowy Milky Way
No human foot hath trod.
Aeons have passed; but unsullied and white,
Still it stands, fair as a rainbow of night,
Held like a promise above our dark sight,
Guiding our thoughts to God.
“Galileo’s Stars”
By Kendall Alverna, Staff Writer
Into the abyss of infinite space,
Galileo peered through his makeshift glass-eye.
The night sky was a black velvet curtain,
Studded with a million diamonds of light.
He marveled at the moons of Jupiter,
Dancing in their orbits around the giant planet,
Like children playing around their parent.
The heavens were a vast and unfathomable mystery,
But Galileo's mind was sharp,
And he was determined to uncover their secrets.
Galileo's findings rocked the world,
But they were met with skepticism and resistance.
The Church condemned his discoveries as heresy,
And his fellow scientists sneered at his bold claims.
Yet Galileo remained unbowed and undeterred,
Driven by his love for truth
And his desire to understand the mysteries of the Universe.
He wrote of his observations with eloquence and clarity,
His passion for knowledge shining through every word.
Galileo's legacy lives on,
His discoveries paving the way for future generations of scientists to build upon.
His telescopes have become more advanced,
His observations more precise,
But the spirit of his curiosity and quest for knowledge endures.
The night sky is still a vast and wondrous mystery,
And we continue to gaze up at it,
Filled with awe and wonder,
And with Galileo's words ringing in our ears:
“And yet, it moves!"
“Magna veritas et praevalet!”
“Great is truth, and it prevails!”
(1 Esdras 4:41 in the Latin Vulgate)
In this digital image, Urania, the Muse of Astronomy, is playing her flute on a starlit night. According to ancient tradition, she has been conducting the Music of the Spheres ever since the beginning of time;, and she is a distinguished member of the Heavenly Court in the Empyrean Realm. (Image Credit: The Editor -- @RHCLambengolmo)
“L’amor che muove il Sole e l’altre stelle.”
“The love that moves the Sun and the other stars.”
à Dante (1265-1321): Paradiso XXXIII: 145
“Galilei Galileo”
By Wilbur D. Nesbit (1871-1927)
Galilei Galileo was an early man of science;
He was happy when inventing, or discussing an appliance;
Pendulums, he found by study, were precise in every wobble —
Showing how old Father Time went in his never-ending hobble.
Galilei Galileo the thermometer invented
And informed the gaping public what its figures represented.
“O you foolish Galileo,” cried the public, “you shall rue it!
Why get up a thing to tell us we are hot? We always knew it.”
Galilei Galileo took a tube and got some lenses
And discovered things that made him rather disbelieve his senses;
He would point his telescope up to the sky and then he’d scan it,
Then go into breakfast smiling, for he’d found another planet.
Galilei Galileo viewed the luminary solar
(That’s the Sun) and found it spotted on the belt and regions polar;
But he didn’t figure out that when the Sun was thickly freckled
Then the world with lights and fusses was continually speckled.
Galilei Galileo wrote a thing and then denounced it —
But we often read his name and wonder how the man pronounced it.
Maybe when he tried to, he was all at sixes and at sevens,
Which is why he turned his studies to the dim and distant heavens.
Galilei Galileo! What a musical cognomen!
Possibly some bright librettist will find in this name an omen
That presages fortune for him, and the stage will pay what we owe
To that honest old stargazer, Galilei Galileo.
Winged Words of Wisdom
By Viviana Rivera, Staff Writer
Standing up for what is right, even in the face of adversity and opposition, takes immense courage. To speak truth to power requires bravery, conviction, and a deep belief in the value of honesty and justice. It takes courage.
Sayings of the Stoic Sages
By Amy Kendrick & Grace Whittier, Staff Writers
From Amy’s Desk
Here's a quote from the Discourses of Epictetus:
"In a word, the things that are really in our power are very few, whereas those which are not are immeasurable" (1.1.3).
This means that we have control only over our own attitudes and actions. We cannot control circumstances, people, or events outside of our control. However, we do have the power to choose how we respond to whatever comes our way. By focusing on what we can control, we can cultivate wisdom and inner strength.
From Grace’s Desk
This is a famous quote by Epictetus:
"It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows."
I love this quote because it reminds me that a true Stoic is humble before Nature and the world about what they know, and is always, always open to learning new things. And the Stoic virtues such as courage and compassion are things we must constantly learn, because they aren't fixed; they can grow better within us as we learn and grow better.
Here’s a quote and commentary about courage & compassion:
"May all beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering, and may the hearts of all beings be at ease. May all beings live in peace and harmony, free from hostility and conflict, and be happy always."
à Mahayana Buddhist Prayer
This prayer expresses the two foundational principles of the Buddhist way of life: compassion and wisdom. These two principles work together to bring us to the realization that the well-being of others is inextricably connected to our own.
