cjh@petsd.UUCP (Chris Henrich) (11/15/84)
[] jlg@lanl.ARPA writes (in an article mainly about ESP) >The scientists >of the time either didn't know of Galileo's work (church censorship - >in fact the word 'censor' comes from a device carried by churchmen to >perfume the air), refused to discuss Galileo's work (fear of church >reprisals), or they looked at the evidence and agreed with Galileo's >position. I think the case of Galileo is often misunderstood, and certainly is not apposite to the problems of ESP researchers. As I understand it, the persecution of Galileo was a high-water mark in the attempt of the Inquisition to keep scholarly research under the control of the institutional church. Maybe it was more like a "last hurrah"; in any case, it failed in the long run. (Thank God!) It is not always realized that Galileo was a famous man: full professor of mathematics at a good university, author of widely read books and pamphlets, and well known to intelligent Europeans who were not scientists (e.g. Milton). His persecution was very controversial at the time. (Source: _Florence_in_the_Forgotten_Centuries_, author forgotten, published about 1975) Even less well known is the possibility that it was illegal, even by the iniquitous rules of the Inquisition. A crucial document may have been forged. (Source: _The_Crime_of_Galileo_, by Giorgio de Santillana) BTW, the device that a priest uses to fumigate the altar (sorry, but that's what it looks like :-) ) is a "censer", related to "incense". "Censor" was the name of an official in the government of the Roman Republic; his duties included looking out for waste and malpractice. (Source: vague memories from high school) Regards, Chris -- Full-Name: Christopher J. Henrich UUCP: ..!(cornell | ariel | ukc | houxz)!vax135!petsd!cjh US Mail: MS 313; Perkin-Elmer; 106 Apple St; Tinton Falls, NJ 07724 Phone: (201) 870-5853