Can I read Galileo : a Play on EtoBox?

Galileo : a Play by Bertolt Brecht; Charles Laughton; Eric Bentley is a science book available to read on EtoBox.

What is Galileo : a Play about?

Galileo, an eminent professor and scientist in the 17th century Venetian Republic, is short of money. A prospective student tells him about a novel invention, the telescope ("a queer tube thing"), that is being sold in Amsterdam. Galileo replicates it, and offers it to the Republic as his own creation. He gains an increase in his salary, but within a short time his ruse is discovered. Galileo then uses the telescope for careful observations of the Moon and the planets, and he discovers the moons orbiting Jupiter. His observations strongly support Nicolaus Copernicus' heliocentric model of the Solar System, which is counter both to popular belief and to the doctrine of the powerful Roman Catholic Church. He furthermore publishes in vernacular Italian, rather than traditional scientific Latin, thus making his work and conclusions more accessible to the common people. His daughter's engagement to a well-off young man (with whom she is genuinely in love) is broken because of Galileo's reluctance to distance himself from his unorthodox teachings. Galileo is brought to the Vatican in Rome for interrogation by the Inquisition. Upon being threatened with torture, he recants his teachings.

Who reads Galileo : a Play?

Author

Bertolt Brecht; Charles Laughton; Eric Bentley

Publisher

Grove Press; Grove/Atlantic, Incorporated

Published

1966

Language

EN

ISBN

9780802130594

Category

science

Subjects

Literary Fiction, Fiction, Memoir

Rating

3.71 / 5 (39 ratings)

Updated

2026-03-13