Galileo Reborn Galileo

The old view of Galileo was delightfully uncomplicated. He was, above all, a man who experimented: who despised the prejudices and book learning of the Aristotelians, who put his questions to nature instead of to the ancients, and who drew his conclusions fearlessly. He had been the first to turn a telescope to the sky, and he had seen there evidence enough to overthrow Aristotle and Ptolemy together. He was the man who climbed the Leaning Tower of Pisa and dropped various weights from the top, who rolled balls down inclined planes, and then generalized the results of his many experiments into the famous law of free fall.

But a closer study of the evidence, supported by a deeper sense of the period, and particularly by a new consciousness of the philosophical undercurrents in the scientific revolution, has profoundly modified this view of Galileo. Today, although the old Galileo lives on in many popular writings, among historians of science a new and more sophisticated picture has emerged. At the same time our sympathy for Balileo's opponents has grown somewhat. His telescopic observation are justly immortal; they aroused great interest at the time, they had important theoretical consequences, and they provided a striking demonstration of the potentialities hidden in instruments and apparatus. But can we blame those who looked and failed to see what Galileo saw, if we remember that to use a telescope at the limit of its powers calls for long experience and intimate familiarity with one's instrument? Was the philosopher who refused to look through Galileo's telescope more culpable than those who alleged that the spiral nebulae observed with Lord Rosse's great telescope in the eighteen-forties were scratches left by the grinder? We can perhaps forgive those who said the moons of Jupiter were produced by Galileo's spy-glass if we recall that in his day, as for centuries before, curved glass was the popular contrivance for producing not truth but illusion, untruth; and if a single curved glass would distort nature, how much more would a pair of them?

New words and expressions

Galileo 意大利物理及天文学家 Italian

He is the founder of modern physics. Sun Center/ Earth Center Copernicus polish astronomy

Roman Catholic

heretic 异教徒

governing body

All roads lead to Rome.

controversy n. 争论，争议=argument/quarrel/debate

I had words with my wife.吵架

They two are controversial.因观点不同而争论

universiade debating 大学生辩论会

clash/confrontation mental conflict

If you go to America, you will find very surprising and shocking clash between western and oriental cultures.

controversial  beyond controversy毫无疑问=beyond question

dust n. 纠纷，骚动to raise dust 引起争论

Dust are you from, back to dust you will go.

rib肋骨/steak排骨

He always licks the dust.卑躬屈膝

eat dust 忍辱负重，卧薪尝胆

The emperor of Yue ate dust for several years. Finally he turned against and also he successed.

raise a dust/ kick up a dust 引起争论

His rude remarks raise a dust.

the Inquisition n. （罗马天主教的）宗教法庭

thirty days grace/confess

perspective n. 观点，看法=view/stand/stance/proposition

My view/stand/stance/proposition is that...我的观点是…

prejudice n. 偏见

《傲慢与偏见》(Pride and Prejudice)全书第一句是：It is a truth well-known to the world that an unmarried man in possession of a big fortune must be in want of a wife.有钱的单身汉总想娶位太太，这已成为一条举世公认的真理。

arranged marriage 包办婚姻

be prejudiced against

He has a prejudice against me.他对我有偏见。

be discriminate against

Blacks are discriminated against.黑人受歧视。

racial discrimination 种族歧视

The mom plays favorites with her eldest son.母亲对大儿子偏心。

above all 首先 He is honest. He is kind. Above all he is very diligent.（强调"勤奋"）

despise vt. 蔑视 dislike<belittle<contempt<despise<loathe 

I despise snakes.

Aristotle 古希腊哲学家 classification

physics/rhetoric/poetry/psychology

mind of the school

Ptolemy 古希腊哲学家

Leaning Tower of Pisa 比萨斜塔

inclined plane 斜面

horizontal plane 水平面

generalize vt. 归纳generalization/summarize/induce

free fall 自由落体

undercurrent n. 潜流a hidden tendency behind the general opinion

sympathy n. 同情I have sympathy for him.

be sympathetic with

fellow feeling 同情

justly ad. 确实地，无疑地 no doubt

immortal a. 不朽的

Humans are mortal.

mortal sins 人世间的罪

He dealt me a mortal blow.他给了我致命一击。

He is mortally ill.病重

the immortals 长生不老的人

intimate a. 详尽的=detailed intimate report

exhaustive/minute/blow-by-blow

familiarity n. 熟悉familiar a.

I am familiar with it.

It is familiar to me.

Familiarity breeds contempt.

Distance lets enchantment to do well.

culpable a. 应受谴责的=condemnable

culprit罪犯

allege vt. 断言

spiral a. 螺旋状的

nebula n. 星云dust and mist

scratch n. 擦痕scratch a match 划火柴scratch a meal 扒两口饭scratch back 抓挠  scratch cat 打架厉害的女人pinch

Jupiter n. 木星

罗马神话(Roman mythology)的主神是Jupiter

希腊神话(Greek mythology)的主神是Zeus

spy-glass n. 小望远镜 telescope 大望远镜

contrivance n. 器械 instrument/appliance

distort vt. 歪曲=falsify/misrepresent/warp

distort the fact 歪曲事实

reborn n. 再生=rebirth

Notes on the text

long since 早已

He has long since died. the scientific dust since then has settled for a long time

in its proper/wrong perspective

something like/proper

He is something like musician.

something like its proper perspective 基本正确地来看待

in its proper sense/perspective

in contrast 相反controversial figure

view of Galileo 人们对Galileo的看法Galileo's view Galileo的看法

book learning 书本知识 blind worship 盲目崇拜

put 提出

draw one's conclusion 作出结论

powerful influence of religion

there: in the sky

weights 重物

generalize... into 把…总结成

law/theory   law: natural/theory: mental

law of nature 自然法则

a closer study 更仔细地研究

support修饰study

sense: understanding

consciousness: understanding

profoundly: deeply

modified: changed

1 of the period

2 new consciousness of the philosophical undercurrents

old: late 已故的

live on 活跃在

popular writings 科普文章 picture: idea

opponents 反对者 the majority of the commons

somewhat: a little   they: telescopic observations

striking: surprising/shocking

demonstration: show/exhibition potentiality/potential

tap one's potentials 挖掘潜力

possibility

blame: criticize

powers 倍数

calls for: needs

extol him to the sky

backward society

ardent follower of Aristotle and Ptolemy

allege （内容一般不真实）

observed with

Lord 勋爵 scratches 碎片

grinder 磨工，尤指磨刀具的工人，研磨者

a sheer liar telling lies

to tell people to tell truth

forgive: pardon

moons 卫星 in his day 在他的时代 curved glass 曲面镜

convex 凸透镜 concave 凹透镜 fatter/thinner a pair of 一对

too abrupt/radical