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The Royal Society: Science in the Making

Letter from G[alileo] G[alilei] to Padre Benedetto Castelli, dated at Florence

Reference number: EL/G1/1

Date: 21 December 1613

Description

A letter, attributed to Galileo, in which the author attempts to reconcile the Copernican System with scripture, with reference to a passage in Joshua. Includes extensive annotations and emendments throughout. On the second page of the letter, 'false' has been crossed out, and the phrase 'hanno aspetto diverso dal vero' [differing from the truth] has been added to a passage regarding the content of scripture.

This holograph and its significance is discussed in the Notes and Records of the Royal Society: Camerota, Michele; Giudice, Franco; Ricciardo, Salvatore. 'The reappearance of Galileo's original Letter to Benedetto Castelli', Notes and Records: The Royal Society Journal of the History of Science, volume 73, issue 1 (2019), pp. 11-28.

Reference number
EL/G1/1
Earliest possible date
21 December 1613
Page extent
7 pages
Format
Manuscript
Also available on Early Modern Letters Online
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Creator name

Galileo Galilei

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Citation

Galileo Galilei, Letter from G[alileo] G[alilei] to Padre Benedetto Castelli, dated at Florence, 21 December 1613, EL/G1/1, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/el_g1_1/letter-from-galileo-galilei-to-padre-benedetto-castelli-dated-at-florence, accessed on 12 December 2024

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https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/el_g1_1/letter-from-galileo-galilei-to-padre-benedetto-castelli-dated-at-florence

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  • Early Letters

    Dates: 1613-1740

    The archival collection known as 'Early Letters' is composed of original manuscript letters sent to, or collected by, the Royal Society from English and foreign correspondents.

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