Galileo Galilei - Dialogo
August 24th, 2007 by Bauman
“And yet it still moves.” - Attributed to Galileo after being forced to recant the Copernican theory before the Inquisition.
That Galileo would publish one of the most controversial books of his time was unexpected. An esteemed scientist, he obeyed the edict of the Church in 1616 to stop defending Copernicus’ theory of the sun-centred system, and he began the writing of the Dialogo with the sanction of the Pope, who anticipated a balanced, theoretical debate on the issue.
Instead, nearly 70 years old, aged and infirm, Galileo came down firmly, defiantly and triumphantly on the side of Copernicus and reason with the publication of his Diagolo in 1632. It was a dangerous book, written in the language of the masses and clearly illustrated with drawings that any layman could comprehend.
The book immediately sold out, and despite the best efforts of the Church to suppress it - it remained on the Index of Prohibited Books for nearly 200 years - it flourished on the black market and ignited the world. We offer an exceptional 1632 first edition of Galileo’s Diagolo, in a 17th-century vellum binding.