Historical Fiction
“Generally speaking, truth has been
suffered to exist in the world just to the extent that it profited the rulers
of society.” [Barrows Dunham, Man Against Myth, 1947]
“And
yet it moves,” mumbled Galileo as he walked out of the Inquisition Chamber
having accepted the punishment imposed on him for upholding the truth.
Galileo (1564-1642) |
The
earth is not the centre of the universe.
Galileo had argued. The sun was
the centre of the solar system. The
earth moved round the sun. The earth was
just another planet like many others.
“Your
teaching explicitly contradicts the Holy Scripture,” said Cardinal Bellarmine. “You run the risk of being branded a heretic
and being burnt at the stake. “We exhort
you to abandon the mathematical hypothesis completely and unconditionally. You will not hold the opinion that the sun
stands still and the earth moves. You
will not henceforth hold, teach, or defend it any way whatever, either orally
or in writing.”
The
Scripture! What do these people
understand of the Scripture? Galileo had
despaired of trying to make the religious leaders understand that the Scripture
was poetry to be interpreted for the sake of bringing the truth to the people
in a way they could understand. The sun
rises and sets. That is poetry. But that does not mean the sun actually
moves. Didn’t Copernicus say the same
thing? Yet wasn’t Copernicus a doctor in
canon law? Didn’t Augustine exhort the
Church to avoid making decrees about the physical world lest they be overturned
by new knowledge? And wasn’t Augustine a
saint of the Church?
“The
purpose of the Bible is to teach how to go to heaven, while science teaches how
the heavens go,” Galileo had argued.
The
scientist drew the attention of his religious leaders to Anaxagoras who died
two millennia ago. In 467 BCE Anaxagoras
pointed at the meteorite that had fallen and raised the question: “What do the
authorities want me to say now? Will
they permit me to say that the stars up there which are worshipped as gods are
actually inert rocks like this?”
If
the Scripture is the divinely revealed truth, why does it contain so many
contradictions? Is truth the expediency
of the authorities?
“You
are inviting the wrath of God upon your head, Galileo,” said the Inquisitor Cardinal. “God finds you vehemently suspect of
heresy. You are questioning the word of
God. Unless you abjure, curse and detest
your opinions, God won’t be able to save you from the stake.”
How
helpless is God! Galileo suppressed the
thought. If God is so helpless, what can
one say about the mortal man?
The
mortal man abjured, cursed and detested what he knew was the truth. He remembered Bruno, the man whose tongue was
imprisoned by the same Cardinal Bellarmine before his body was burnt at the
stake and works put on the Index of Prohibited Books. When Bruno was burning on the stake in Rome,
Shakespeare’s Hamlet was wondering on a stage in London: “To be or not to be,
that’s the question.”
To
be, decided Galileo. To be. He abjured, cursed and detested the
truth. To Be.
“Your
recantation saves your life, Galileo,” said Cardinal Bellarmine solemnly. “But we cannot give you any more
liberty. You will not teach
anymore. You will not appear before the
public. We place you under arrest.”
How
long, O Lord, will you hide your face from your people? Galileo asked God like the Psalmist. Arouse Yourself, why do you sleep, O Lord?
The
heavens were silent. But they moved,
Galileo knew. The bodies up there, they
moved. To Be.
Wonderful. A message that needs to be shared. Sharing!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lata
DeleteLoved the post and some of the lines are so powerful they provoke a thought! thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteReal life stories tend to be more poignant...
DeleteBeautifully written. Loved the line "If God is so helpless, what can one say about the mortal man?"
ReplyDeleteToo many people experienced that mortal helplessness esp in those days.
DeleteThe heretic, is remembered till date for his truth. Beautifully written historical fiction.
ReplyDeleteIronically the cardinal who burnt many a heretic at the stake was later declared a saint by the Church. Religion is indeed a mystery...
DeleteReligion also one kind of mafia,no way God is responsible for that..He/She has too many things to do ,I think so...!
ReplyDeleteYes, Murthy ji. I share your view except that I'm not a believer. For those who genuinely believe in God, what you say must make a lot of sense. For the others, religion is a useful tool just like the guns in the hands of mafia groups.
Delete