What Galileo Can Teach Us About Living Through the Plague

The outbreak of the plague in the 1630s forced Galileo to be in quarantine, leading him to search for ways of doing his research and staying connected with the family. As the COVID-19 has swept the world over the past several months, people have come up with new methods of getting used to new circumstances.

Isaac Newton has been recognized as the most wisest in utilizing the surplus of “inside” time, as he has spent the year of 1666 as the year of miracles. He was able to avoid the plague while being able to develop his ideas and theories on gravity, optics, and calculus. Isolation and plenty of time for quiet contemplation allows for the groundwork of physics to be laid out during the time of crisis. In fact, several of the most public and the turbulent years during Galileo’s life occurred during the great plague.

Galileo Introduction

Galileo, born in 1564, had been a child of Florence during the Italian plague that occurred in the 16th century. While being a student at the University of Pisa, Galileo began his studies to learn about the notorious disease. By 1592, Galileo was able to achieve prestigious positions at the University of Padua, as he had published the Starry Messengers. The book had reported his discoveries of what he found out using the telescope. With the utilization of the telescope, he was able to spot other stars that could have never been identified with the bare eye. This slim volume allowed the discoveries to shine into the spotlight as they noted the previously undecided “Medicean stars”, and the surfaces of the moon.

Effect of the Plague on Galileo

This was the same year that his friend Ottavio Brezoni sent him a copy of the treatise on the plague, and serves to remind us that without the plague, Galileo wouldn’t have been able to publish his great work. Galileo’s regular references to the outbreak of the plague could be seen in his records.

Galileo’s friend, the mathematician Benedetto Castelli has once called this period of time what feels “like a thousand years” for the year of 1631.

We can easily sympathize with this as of now. The plague has become an obstacle and also an opportunity for Galileo as he was able to create the Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems to be created. The required arrangements have been printed through the scientific society, and when the Dialogue was published and checked by Rome, this created a process for Galileo to frame his arguments in favor of a forceful move of the Earth.

How the Plague Pushed Galileo's Work

In February 1632 Galileo’s Dialogue was completed in Florence. Although the mailing between Florence and Rome took only a few days, the plague had been restricting the travel between the two places, and as a result only 2 of the copies were able to arrive in July. As the text was able to reach the Roman Catholic elite , Pope Urban VIII and the Jesuits immediately expressed the outrage of Galileo’s work. It was within a week when the book became banned, and in September 1632, Galileo was summoned to testify before the Roman Inquisition. For the same delays that have impeded the mail and the publication of his book, Galileo found everything to work in his favor. This was when galileo pleaded innocence and begged that the trial be moved. The year of Galileo’s plague and the Inquisition Trials had been the driving force of Galileo’s daughter, Maria Celeste to begin working to search for spiritual remedies for the support and sustainability of her father. Amid the concerns for her father’s reputation, Maria Celeste and the family of Galileo sent letters to make sure that he is updated about what has been happening outside of the quarantine.

Galileo’s years of the plague has been able to illuminate the realities of scientific engagement while the world has been combating a crisis.

What We Can Learn

The challenges of articulating the novel discoveries conflicting the religious and political doctrine has not been able to stop Galileo from making new scientific discoveries. As scientists of today are battling the virus and working to continue their scientific discoveries today, many consider Galileo as their model scientist. Bolstered by the relationships with the family and friends, Galileo's life is able to teach many that the pursuance of science is essential to preserve no matter what circumstances.

Reference: Scientific American, August 2020, Galileo’s Lessons for Living Through a Plague, By Hannah Marcus