The Grand Duchess Christina was both a friend
and patron to Galileo. She had once hired Galileo as a private tutor in mathematics
to her eldest son Cosimo who later became Grand Duke of Tuscany.
This letter to her was written by Galileo in 1615 while the Church debated whether or not
to allow Galileo to continue teaching his heliocentric idea of the universe. In it,
Galileo talks about his ideas concerning science and religion.
Read this letter carefully and discuss the following in essay answer format.
1. Do you agree with Galileo's statement found in the last sentence of the first paragraph? Why? Why not?
2. In the third paragraph, Galileo mentions St. Augustine who lived in the 4th century and was one of the great thinkers of the Church. According to the letter, what does Augustine say about" making positive statements about things which are obscure and hard to understand by means of reason alone"?
3. In the fifth paragraph, what do you think Galileo means when he says that his enemies are accusing him of "crimes which. . .are more abhorrent to me than death itself"? To what is he referring?
4. Galileo refers to Copernicus when he defends his heliocentric theory against his enemies in the Church. What argument does Galileo use? Explain thoroughly.
5. Galileo was always a Catholic in his faith and saw no contradiction between religion and science. How does he explain the apparent contradictions between religion and science? What does he say about the common people?