dge? There may be some even now.

Well, the unpopularity of Galileo smouldered for a time, until, by
another noble imprudence, he managed to offend a semi-royal personage,
Giovanni de Medici, by giving his real opinion, when consulted, about a
machine which de Medici had invented for cleaning out the harbour of
Leghorn. He said it was as useless as it in fact turned out to be.
Through the influence of the mortified inventor he lost favour at Court;
and his enemies took advantage of the fact to render his chair
untenable. He resigned before his three years were up, and retired to
Florence.

His father at this time died, and the family were left in narrow
circumstances. He had a brother and three sisters to provide for.

He was offered a professorship at Padua for six years by the Senate of
Venice, and willingly accepted it.

Now began a very successful career. His introductory address was marked
by brilliant eloquence, and his lectures soon acquired fame. He wrote
for his pupils on the laws of motion, on fortifications, on sundials, on
mechanics, and on the celestial globe: some of these papers are now
lost, others have been printed during the present century.

Kepler sent him a copy of his new book, _Mysterium Cosmographicum_, and
Galileo in thanking him for it writes him the following letter:--[7]

"I count myself happy, in the search after truth, to have so great
an ally as yourself, and one who is so great a friend of the truth
itself. It is really pitiful that there are so few who seek truth,
and who do not pursue a perverse method of philosophising. But this
is not the place to mourn over the miseries of our times, but to
congratulate you on your splendid discoveries in confirmation of
truth. I shall read your book to the end, sure of finding much that
is excellent in it. I shall do so with the more pleasure, because
_I have been for many years an adherent of the Copernican system_,
and it explains to me the causes of many of the appearances of
nature which are quite unintelligible on the commonly accepted
hypothesis. _I have collected many arguments for the purpose of
refuting the latter_; but I do not venture to bring them to the
light of publicity, for fear of sharing the fate of our master,
Copernicus, who, although he has earned immortal fame with some,
yet with very many (so great is the number of fools) has become an
o